Underneath It All
by Firespirit1
Summary: Sequel to It's Gonna Be Me and second in the teen movies series! This is Mina's story. A shittenousenshi romance. And one day I'll have a better summary for you all.rnNew Chapter is chapter 7!
1. And So We Begin

Underneath It All  
  
The strains of Bittersweet Sympathy filled the gymnasium. Mina Hathaway sat on a bench with her best friend, Lynda. This was the final dance of their seventh grade year. Next year they'd be eighth graders and the school would be theirs.  
  
She waved Lynda off to the dance floor when Jed asked her. Lynda had a painful crush on Mina's older brother. Sadly he didn't feel the same way, but had no problem doing his sister a favor.  
  
Speaking of painful crushes, Mina's came into view. Keith Taylor was the very definition of hot. He was practically a god.  
  
Once, they'd even talked in the library.  
  
So technically she'd dropped a book on his foot. And he'd said ouch. And she'd apologized. And he told her not to worry about it and limped away.  
  
Okay, maybe it wasn't a declaration of love. But it was definitely an exchange of more than two sentences. Technically a conversation as she'd informed Lynda several times.  
  
She stopped breathing as she realized that he and his friend were coming closer. Mina glanced to both sides of her. There was no one sitting even remotely near to her.  
  
Just perfect. Keith was practically within touching distance and she was sitting all alone like some leper loser.  
  
She stared studiously foreword as though watching middle schoolers bounce around to Cannonball was the most fascinating thing in the world.  
  
"Come on Keith. This is our last dance at this school and I've never once seen you shake your stuff."  
  
Keith eyed his friend in amusement. "Shake my stuff, Jason?" He frowned as he surveyed his options. "There's no one here I'd like to dance with."  
  
Jason rolled his eyes. "It's one dance, not a marriage proposal. How about her?"  
  
He pointed to a pretty girl with black hair who was scowling out at the dance floor.  
  
Keith manfully suppressed a shiver of fear. "Definitely not. She'd likely rip my head off for asking."  
  
Jason shrugged. "How about Molly?"  
  
Keith sniffed. "No. She looks like a mouse."  
  
Mina tried to hold back a snort. Now that he mentioned it, Molly did look a bit rodent like.  
  
Mina's snort drew Jason's eye. "Hey, what about Jed's little sister. She's really nice and won't step on your feet."  
  
Keith looked to where Jason's finger was pointed and sighed. No, she wouldn't step on his foot. Not when she'd already dropped a book on it. "That little girl? I'd rather dance with your mother."  
  
Mina stiffened in pain as his words reached her ears. The pain didn't last long. Quickly it dissipated into amused anger. What gave him the right to blow people off so casually? What made him so special? It was outrageous.  
  
As soon as Lynda sat down beside her, Mina told her best friend everything.  
  
"Oh no Mina! I'm so sorry!" Lynda wailed.  
  
Mina smiled. The anger had faded leaving only humor. "Don't be. I think it's funny. And I bet Anna would think so too."  
  
Lynda held Mina back. "You don't really mean to tell other people do you?"  
  
Mina shrugged. "Of course I do."  
  
Lynda gasped. "But it's so humiliating, being turned down like that!"  
  
"There's no humiliation being turned away by someone like him."  
  
  
  
A burst of laughter caught Keith's attention. Looking towards it he saw the book dropper talking animatedly to a group. The group eyed him, then turned back laughing softly.  
  
The girl smiled coldly at him and he knew that she had heard every word.  
  
He was almost sorry.  
  
  
  
Three years later...  
  
  
  
Keith studied the girl as she made her way towards the table. There was something familiar about her. This wasn't saying much, considering that he'd probably passed her in Rivercrest High's hallways about a million times.  
  
He saw her wave brightly at the boy beside him and made a connection. Jed's little sister.  
  
He almost dismissed her but then he caught her smile chill several degrees. He looked behind him to see who had pissed her off.  
  
No one was there.  
  
He wondered what the hell he'd done to make her so angry. As far as he knew he'd never even spoken with her.  
  
She sailed past him and sat with a group of girls further down the table. The fashion drones as Jed was fond of calling them.  
  
He didn't mean to spend the lunch period watching her out of the corner of his eye. But he couldn't seem to help it. Luckily his friends didn't notice his preoccupation. He was usually quiet at lunch.  
  
He was intrigued by the fact that her eyes twinkled whenever she spoke to someone she liked. He was also mortified to have noticed.  
  
The only person whose eyes twinkled was Santa's for crying out loud.  
  
He shook his head to clear it. Jed had been babbling about some party set for that weekend. Keith nodded and said he'd be there.mo  
  
When the bell rang, he glanced to where she was sitting. But she'd already gotten up and all he caught was the swing of her hair as she walked out the door.  
  
  
  
He wouldn't have given her a second thought if she hadn't kept showing up wherever he went. She slid into the popular crowd with careless ease. Mina belonged immediately and Keith wondered why she waited until her sophomore year to start hanging out with them.  
  
Watching her became a sort of habit. He wasn't obsessed or anything like that. He didn't stare or gawk or paste her picture all over his walls.  
  
But if she was in the same room he'd keep track of her. Check in every now and then. Kind of like an older brother would.  
  
He almost laughed out loud when he stuck upon that conclusion.  
  
The last thing Mina Hathaway needed was another big brother.  
  
For all his easy going nature, Jed Hathaway was an absolute terror when it came to his little sister.  
  
He didn't do anything embarrassing. At least not as far as Mina knew. Keith knew better.  
  
He'd had the privilege to be around when Jed "talked" with one of Mina's dates. The talk as Jed would have called it, or threat session as Keith preferred to think of it, made it perfectly clear that Mina was to be treated with the utmost respect befitting a young lady.  
  
In other words, you make Mina cry Jed make you cry.  
  
Keith never wanted to be on the receiving end of that little speech. Despite being three inches and 40 pounds bigger than Jed it had sent chills down Keith's spine. Especially at some of Jed's more descriptive points.  
  
Still, he kept an eye on Mina whenever she was around. She was easy to watch. She would have been awful at poker. Every emotion she felt was displayed across her face.  
  
And since he was watching her so much, he couldn't help but notice that every time he joined a group that Mina was with, she ignored him. And whenever he made himself impossible to ignore, she spoke to him with indifference and never for long.  
  
Normally he would have backed off. She obviously had issues with him that he didn't know about.  
  
But he'd seen how she was with everyone else. And he wanted her to be that open and friendly with him.  
  
Yet every time he approached her, she shot him down with a hard smile that tugged at some hazy memory he couldn't quite recall.  
  
  
  
On the night of Lynda Benson's party he remembered.  
  
Jed grabbed Keith and dragged him over to where Mina was standing.  
  
"You two," He announced. "Are the most boring people here. You don't even dance!" He squinted at Mina. "Why did I even bring you along?"  
  
She studied his goofy expression. "So that you don't wrap your jeep around a telephone pole trying to drive back in your condition."  
  
He brightened. "That's right!" Then he looked at Keith, confused. "Hey Keith, why are you here?"  
  
Keith shot Mina an exasperated look and removed the cup from Jed's hand. "I wouldn't know Jed. You were the one who dragged me over here."  
  
"I did?"  
  
Mina rolled her eyes. "One day I'm going to find you a girl who's a worse drunk than you. It's the only way you'll live down the shame you've brought upon our family name."  
  
Jed grinned. "Dance!"  
  
Mina and Keith looked at each other and then back to Jed.  
  
"Yes you two must dance. I command it. It will keep you two off my back while I figure out where they hid the beer."  
  
Keith wasn't feeling particularly charitable towards Jed at that moment and let the boy elbow his way through the crowd without telling him that the keg had been kicked fifteen minutes earlier.  
  
"Would you like to?"  
  
"Hmm?" Mina had been studiously looking at anything but Keith since her brother left.  
  
"Dance. With me. Would you like to?"  
  
Her eyes were cool as they turned to him. "No thank you. But if it's a dance partner you're looking for, you might ask Jason Brinkman's mom."  
  
With that she stepped into the sea of people dancing and away from him.  
  
Lynda Benson stepped in before Keith's memories could completely settle.  
  
"Was Mina mean?" She cooed as she trailed a finger across Keith's chest. "I guess she's still mad about the dance. After all, you'd rather dance with Brinkman's annoying mother than her. Not that I blame you."  
  
Keith stilled Lynda's hand and removed it from his chest. "You're right. I did say that." He stepped away from the girl. "I've never been more wrong in my life."  
  
With that he strode from the party and to his car.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Notes  
  
Hurrah! I've returned to you all bearing the gift of chapter one! I know I said a month and it's been a tad longer. Life got in the way.  
  
Thanks to everyone who got on my case about getting this out. Special thanks to VO1 for the title.  
  
I know that this is sort of a recap from what you learned in It's Gonna Be Me. The next chapter will be too. Chapter three will be completely new information.  
  
Also, I'm issuing a challenge to all my readers. It may be hard to answer until chapter three so don't stress or anything. Anyway...Why is this 'teen movie' more in the spirit of Clueless than any other teen movie?  
  
Anyway, read, enjoy (hopefully), and review (pretty please!). Chapter two will be out soon. Any delays or misc. information will be on my authors page. 


	2. Truce

Mina smirked at her classmates' behavior. Hilarious really, how everyone waited for the weekend to come only to wind up drunk and doing things they'd love to forget by Monday. Only they'd done them in front of half the school so everyone knew by Tuesday.  
  
Take Lynda for example.  
  
Currently she was latched onto the arm of Mike Wilson, flirting for all her worth. Batting her eyes and displaying a healthy amount of cleavage to the linebacker.  
  
Just five minutes prior she was exiting one of Keith's guest rooms with Mike's best friend.  
  
Mina sadly contemplated her friend as she took slow sips of her punch, mindful of the Everclear.  
  
When had Lynda changed from Mina's outgoing, fashion forward friend into Rivercrest High's sexpot? School slut if she kept up this behavior.  
  
Though she was tempted, Mina held herself back from dragging her friend outside. She'd made that mistake before.  
  
Lynda had ignored Mina's well meaning warnings, and gone straight into attack mode. Even going so far as to slap Mina and call her a jealous bitch. Reasoning hadn't worked and eventually the two girls were hurling bitter accusations at one another. Mina was ashamed to remember the word slut coming from her own lips.  
  
The two hadn't been as close since.  
  
When the dice were laid out on the table, Mina didn't like Lynda at all. Not the person she had become anyway. She was petty and cruel and viewed every tiny thing as a competition. But Mina could still remember the girl Lynda had been. It was the only reason she continued her friendship with the girl.  
  
"You look like you could use some company."  
  
Mina looked up from her glass. Beside her was a boy she'd never seen before. She hadn't been missing much. He had dirty blond hair, cut too close to his head and brown eyes. Not bad, but no hottie. "Not really, but thanks for the offer."  
  
His smile grew determined and he held up a thermos. "Okay. I was just wondering if you wanted a refill."  
  
Mina almost accepted, but her brother's voice filled her head before she could.  
  
'Never. Ever. Accept a drink from an open container. You're too smart to wind up like a girl on one of those Lifetime movies.'  
  
Mina smiled at the memory of Jed's lecture. Her brother and his ridiculous obsession with girlie television stations.  
  
She shook her had at the boys offer. "No thanks. I was just about to get myself a drink."  
  
"I'll go with you. I'm Caleb, by the way."  
  
Mina shrugged. She wanted to tell him to go take a short walk of a long cliff but that was more of a Rei thing to do.  
  
She scanned the crowd for any sign of her new friend or her brother. The two were nowhere in sight.  
  
She sighed as she poured herself more punch. Her life was crap tonight. Her best friend in the world had become a bitch, her big brother had ditched her, and creepy staring guy was not going away.  
  
She spared him a glance. "Well. Thanks for walking me all the way to the punch bowl and all. But I'd really like to be on my own."  
  
"Do you dance?"  
  
Mina stared forward at the dance floor. "Not a bit." She lied easily.  
  
"I could teach you."  
  
Mina resisted the urge to childishly stomp her foot. "I'd step on your feet."  
  
'GO AWAY!' She screamed mentally, hoping that he was a psychic.  
  
No such luck.  
  
"I wouldn't mind."  
  
Mina sighed again. It would be best to just nip the bull by the tail. "Look, you seem like a nice guy," She began.  
  
'If you like stalkers!' Her mind chimed in.  
  
"But I don't do the whole random hook up thing." She smiled, glad to have it out. Only a moron wouldn't take that giant hint.  
  
Unfortunately, this guy was the King of Idiots. He was also a duke in the land of sleaze.  
  
"Oh, that's too bad." He grabbed her waist and dragged her forward. "Maybe I can change your mind." He crushed his mouth over hers.  
  
That was about the time that Mina realized that some people are beyond subtlety and need a hard kick to the ass to get the point.  
  
Or fist to the stomach in this guy's case.  
  
"What the hell was that for?" He wheezed.  
  
"You should be happy. If my brother saw that you'd be in worse shape." She informed him.  
  
He grabbed her wrist and she struggled to get away. "You're nothing but a tease. A stupid slut," he hissed.  
  
Mina's eyes narrowed. Enough was really enough. She'd tried to be polite. He hadn't taken the hint.   
  
She tossed her punch in his face.  
  
It did nothing to cool him off. In fact, it enraged him more. He bruised her wrist as he brutally tugged her foreword to hiss another insult.  
  
His squeak of pain didn't carry over the music.  
  
Smiling in triumph Mina left him by the punchbowl, gingerly cupping his manhood. Her smile turned to a scowl as she noticed that she'd gotten punch on her brand new top when she tossed her cup in the guys face. The stain had already set. It was ruined.  
  
This night sucked.  
  
  
  
Keith wouldn't have shared Mina's opinion had she imparted it upon him.  
  
At least, not until he found himself in the middle of a fist fight in his parent's living room.  
  
He still wasn't quite sure how he'd gotten to this point. His confusion was due to the massive amount of alcohol he'd consumed. That and because the guy had punched him in the back of the head. He might even have a concussion. It wouldn't be a good thing. Pretty much the opposite.  
  
As Keith dodged his opponent's blows, his honored guests formed a circle around the fight.  
  
"Kick him in the head!" A girl screamed. Keith hoped she was rooting for him since it was his beer she was spilling all over his couch.  
  
The guy darted forward, faking a punch towards Keith's stomach but aiming for his jaw at the last moment. Keith barely dodged it and decided to quit playing around and just end the damned fight. He was drunk, and bleeding, and the sooner he knocked this guy out then the sooner he could pass out and forget about the bleeding part until morning.  
  
He charged at the guy and had him unconscious in three blows. As the kid was being dragged out onto the front yard came the announcement that ends every party.  
  
"We've got a floater!" Was the cry from the porch where the keg was housed.  
  
Keith's house was pretty much empty in fifteen minutes.  
  
Keith stumbled to the bathroom to get a better look at his mangled face. Mina opened the door from the inside, startling them both.  
  
"What happened to you?" Mina asked, taking in his bleeding forehead and ear. It looked as though a bruise were forming on his left cheek.  
  
He opened his mouth to answer, then grimaced as his semi-healed lip reopened, spilling blood onto his chin.  
  
Mina's stomach (which was already queasy from the Everclear) lurched violently at the sight. Sympathy quickly overwhelmed the nausea.   
  
"Never mind, let's get you cleaned up.  
  
Keith moaned in gratitude and sat down on the toilet seat. He allowed Mina to fuss over his bruised and battered face, thankful he didn't have to deal with it himself. Left to his own devises he would have frowned at his reflection, spread a towel over his pillow to catch blood, and gone to sleep.   
  
The split lip pretty much stopped bleeding on its own. Mina did what she could with the gash above his eye and the torn ear lope.  
  
"You'll have to get stitches tomorrow for your eye. It won't bleed much more but it won't heal properly without them. I'd suggest we go right now but neither of us is exactly sober.  
  
"I r oh ill ear?" Kevin asked, mindful of his split lip.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Why are you still here?" He tried again, this time succeeding in an actual sentence.  
  
"Oh. Jed left without me. Something big must've come up."  
  
"I think I saw him run after that Rei girl. She looked upset."  
  
Mina nodded. Something big had happened then. And she'd have to wait until tomorrow to find out since she was stuck here.  
  
"I'll take you home in the morning."  
  
Mina blinked.  
  
"I'd do it now, but like you said, not sober at the moment."  
  
She smiled at him. "Thank you."  
  
Keith smiled back then hissed at it pulled open the split lip he'd tried so hard not to reopen.   
  
"That's it," He muttered. "I'm no where near drunk enough to deal with this." He contemplated the benefits of raiding his parent's liquor cabinet against the size of his hangover in the morning.   
  
Mina read his mind. "Not a good idea. Tomorrow is going to be hellish enough."  
  
Keith nodded grudgingly. "You're right." He fingered the bruise on his cheek. "I don't even remember how I ended up like this."  
  
He was apparently drunker than he let on or else suffering memory loss from repeated blows to the head.  
  
"You," She pointed at Keith. "Were. Fighting." She said with exaggerated slowness and mimed punches.  
  
He frowned down at her. "I know that. I just don't know why. One minute I'm just standing there and the next some guy walks up and punches me in the back of the head." He threw his bruised hands up in disgust. "I mean, who does that?! Who's crazy enough to walk up to a guy my size and start hitting him?"  
  
Mina shrugged.  
  
"He had to be extremely drunk, crazy, angry, or embarrassed. Hell, probably all four!"  
  
Mina gulped. "Did he have dirty blond hair and brown eyes?"  
  
"I dunno. I guess."  
  
"Was he wearing a red shirt?"  
  
Keith's eyes narrowed. "How did you know that? I thought you missed the fight?"  
  
"I did. It's just that I kinda sorta maybe pissed him off before he hit you."  
  
Keith sighed. Naturally. After all, this was the same girl who dropped a ten pound book on his foot in the eighth grade. He experimentally wiggled his toes. Come to think of it, the middle one had never quite been the same after that encounter.  
  
"What'd you do?" He asked in a defeated tone.  
  
Normally Mina's rarely seen temper would have made an appearance at such a question. But Keith was looking bruised and bloody and rather ridiculous holding a pink towel filled with ice to his bruised cheek.  
  
"I didn't do anything! Except maybe knee him in the groin. But he totally deserved it!"  
  
Keith did his best to control the automatic male wince of sympathy. After all this was the same guy who punched him in the head.  
  
So Mina told Keith the entire ordeal, pausing to lament the loss of her new top before getting back to the point. Keith didn't say anything, but took her hands and turned them up to examine the bruises left on her wrists from the guy's grip. Then he stood up and walked out of the room.  
  
Mina followed at his heels. "Where are you going?"  
  
He didn't slow his stride. "To pick that guy up off my front lawn and hit him a few more times."  
  
Mina darted in front of him and shoved him back with all her might, hoping to stop him.  
  
He picked her up and placed her to the side, out of his path. She grabbed his hand a tugged with all of her might.  
  
And succeeded in toppling him off balance. He landed with a loud thud. Mina took advantage of his surprise and plopped herself on top of his stomach. When she was younger it had been the only way to prevent Jed from destroying her dolls.  
  
Keith was not her brother. He was above all things a male. Mina had his undivided attention.   
  
"You're not going out there Keith. He's already unconscious. There's not much else you can do to him without breaking a law. Please just leave him alone."  
  
Keith nodded slowly.  
  
"I'm tired, aren't you?" She glanced at the hall clock and winced. "It's four in the morning. Can we just go to bed?"  
  
Keith nodded again.  
  
Mina beamed at him. "Good. I'll tuck you in and then find a couch to crash on."  
  
"Nonsense. I'll show you to a guest room."  
  
She stood and offered him a hand up. He accepted and allowed her to pull him to his feet. And if he stumbled and made a show of being a bit drunker then he actually was he figured it was acceptable.   
  
After all would there ever be another time when Mina Hathaway forgot her grudges and urged him to lean on him for support?  
  
This was possibly the best night of his life.  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
Running into Keith again was the last thing Mina wanted. This morning had proved that without alcohol in her system and injuries to mend, she had very little to talk with Keith about.  
  
If there was one this that Mina Hathaway hated, it was an awkward situation. And Keith Taylor was the very definition of awkward situation. The best thing to do would be to minimize exposure to him in group situations and avoid seeing him alone. Life would be just orangey if she could manage that.  
  
Mina made the mistake of forgetting that life hated her and was therefore surprised when her brother dragged her and Rei towards Keith's table at Rendezvous. One look at Keith's bruised face was all it took to convince Mina to flee to the dance floor, dragging Rei along with her.  
  
"What was that about?" Rei shouted above the pounding music.  
  
Mina smiled widely and innocently. "Nothing just felt like dancing."  
  
"Maybe I didn't." Rei muttered darkly.  
  
Before Mina could reply, Lynda pushed her way between the two girls and Rei was dragged further onto the dance floor by an unwanted partner.  
  
"I didn't expect to see you here." Lynda stated, eyeing Mina's new top with envy.  
  
"Why wouldn't you?"  
  
Lynda smiled, her white teeth gleaming purple in the club lighting. "I just assumed you'd be busy entertaining Keith. Wouldn't want him to lose interest."  
  
Mina's back went up in response to the way Lynda said entertaining. "I hope you're not implying what I think you are. We both know I'm not *that* girl in our group."  
  
"Just drop the little Mary Sunshine act." Lynda hissed at Mina with narrowed eyes. "Everyone knows you spent last night at his house."  
  
Mina gasped in protest.  
  
Lynda's eyes slit further. "Bridget Fields lives next door to Keith and saw you both leave his house together this morning." She shrugged and took on an air of nonchalance. "It's not as though I care. Some girls will go to any lengths to get a guy."  
  
Before Mina could accuse the pot of calling the kettle dirty, a voice whispered in her ear.  
  
"May I have this dance?"  
  
It was an absurdly formal question that was better suited for a waltz at a ball than Days Go By at a club.  
  
But Mina had two choices. She could stay and listen to someone she had once considered her best friend say awful things about her or she could dance.  
  
Mina chose dance and turned into the waiting arms without a backward glance. Admittedly, she wasn't paying much attention. She was tired and miserable and just wanted to go home and curl up in bed.  
  
Without bother to look further then her dance partner's chest, she made her excuses. "I'm sorry. I have to go." She mumbled.  
  
He laid a hand on her arm, stopping her. "What's wrong Mina?"  
  
Her eyes darted to his face. She shouldn't have been shocked to find that Keith was her dance partner. But she was and it added humiliation to her list for the evening.  
  
"Nothing's wrong. I have to go. Bye." She darted off before he could stop her.  
  
"Mina's always been a ditz." Lynda commented appearing beside him.  
  
He stared after Mina. "On the contrary, she's a breath of fresh air compared to other girls." He didn't bother to veil the insult as he had little patience for girls of Lynda's character.  
  
She smiled triumphantly. "Yes. I suppose you would say that after last night."  
  
Her meaning hung heavy in the air between them.  
  
He shook his head. "Your implications are not only inaccurate, they're uncreative. Your friend," He allowed sarcasm to linger on the word. "Stayed behind to help me with my injuries. Something I imagine any decent human being would have been inclined to do."  
  
He looked down at Lynda's smirking face. "You know Lynda, we should really stop meeting like this. Or at all."  
  
Lynda's smile fell from her face ad she quickly backpedaled. "I'm sorry if you thought I was implying something Keith's. Mina's my best friend." She looked at him watery eyes. "I only meant that you must be grateful to Mina after she helped you out last night."  
  
Keith nodded curtly and headed back to his table, tired of dealing with Lynda and people in general.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Notes  
  
I know I said on my author's page that this would be posted last night. So very sorry. My computer threatened meltdown and I spent roughly six hours and $140 on software to make it work. Only to find the software was incompatible and the problem's basic enough to solve without. Oh I hope, I hope that crap is returnable.  
  
Erm, once again I left off the disclaimer for this story. Luckily I own nothing but this computer, $140 worth of crap software, and a 1983 brown Buick Skylark. So if you feel like the Skylark's worth it, then by all means sue me. Because the only character that belongs to me is Lynda.   
  
K.Wyse- Nope, not a Shakiara song. That would be Underneath Your Clothes. If I could write a decent love (Wink,wink. Nudge, nudge.) scene, it'd make a nice little interlude. Sadly, any attempts towards that type writing has left me in tears. Of laughter. I have a childish habit of inserting amusing made-up words instead of proper descriptive nouns. Hehe, manpole.  
  
Arashi- Yep, the girl with black hair was Rei. I'm glad you picked up on it!  
  
As far as the challenge went, as I said in chapter one, it might be hard to get until chapter three, but himitsu-no-hi is on the right track!  
  
And to everyone else who replied, thanks so much for taking time to drop a line. I heart you all in the way of Jonathan Rhys Meyers, whom I heart way too much. Mmm, Jonathan. Mmm, reviewers.   
  
Mmm, donuts. 


	3. HisStory

"Can we please go Mina? This dress is fine." Rei's hair was mussed and her cranky voice had come out. All in all it was proof of her affection for Mina and her dedication to the cause that she hadn't stormed out of Niki's already.  
  
Mina studied the lines of the dress, ignoring her friend's glower. Frowning at the entire effect she shook her head. "Nope. That's not the one. It's too."  
  
"Slutty?" Rei supplied helpfully, tugging down on the hemline which only made the neckline plunge dangerously low.  
  
"I was going for Julia Roberts in 'Pretty Woman' before the makeover, but yeah."  
  
Rei sighed. "What about the blue one with the poofy skirt."  
  
Mina wrinkled her delicate nose. "Definitely not you. I'm thinking of something bold."  
  
"You mean slutty."  
  
"No, but sexy. You need something that's classy without being boring." She handed Rei a red dress with a fitted bodice and a slit skirt.  
  
Rei shrugged into the dress, trying to be philosophical about the whole ordeal. She didn't even bother looking at her reflection. No point really. It didn't matter if she liked the dress or not. It was all a matter of if Mina did.  
  
Luck smiled upon Rei. Mina loved the dress.  
  
"That's the one!" Mina glowed with excitement.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
Mina turned Rei towards the mirror.  
  
"Yeah." They both said in unison.  
  
After Rei changed and paid for the dress, the two headed for the food court to meet Jed. Rei was in no hurry to meet up with Jed. The kiss they'd shared a few hours was still fresh on her mind, much to her dismay. The sooner she forgot it the better.  
  
Rei realized she was being far too silent. Mina would surely pick up on something if she didn't at least talk. "What about your dress?"  
  
Mina rolled her eyes. "Please. I got mine weeks ago."  
  
Rei smirked. "I should have known."  
  
"Mina!"  
  
Both girls turned to see two boys approaching. Mina waved brightly.  
  
"Who are they?" Rei hissed, not liking the overwhelming possibility of having to make small talk.  
  
"The blond one is Denny. We dated before he graduated."  
  
The break up had been amicable judging from the enthusiastic hug the two gave one another.  
  
Mina pulled back, grinning hugely at the boy. "So, how is college?"  
  
Denny beamed back. "Pretty good. I'm even managing to go to most of my classes."  
  
The dark haired boy behind him cleared his throat causing Denny to laugh.  
  
"The impatient fellow behind me is Jordan Wiclem. He lives down my hall."  
  
Jordan grinned rakishly at Mina. "Some of my friends call me Wicked."  
  
Mina's smile turned teasing. "Are you?"  
  
Jordan sighed regretfully. "Very rarely I'm afraid."  
  
Rei started to roll her eyes at the whole exchange but couldn't when a pair of hands covered them.  
  
"Guess who?" An all too familiar voice whispered in her ear, causing unwanted shivers to travel down her spine.  
  
"Buddha?"  
  
He laughed softly. "Hardly. Guess again."  
  
The proximity of his lips to her ear forced Rei to remember the kiss and a wave of spite rose within her. "Darien?"  
  
Jed's playful mood ended abruptly and he removed his hands from her eyes. "Sorry to disappoint." He muttered softly.  
  
One look at his face was enough to have Rei feeling guilty and wishing she could hate him for it. He obviously had gotten over the kiss in her hallway and there was no reason for her not to have. "I'm not disappointed."  
  
"You're not." He down looked at her in surprise. For a moment their eyes met with no pretenses. Rei felt entirely too exposed and quickly feel back into defense mode.  
  
"Nope. No one else would carry my bags for me." She thrust the bag at him.  
  
Back on rhythm, he held his hands up in the air. "Aww come on Rei. Keith's here too. Why don't you make him carry your bags?"  
  
"Only if you offer to carry her purse." Keith informed Jed mildly.  
  
Rei's smile gleamed evilly and Jed shot Keith a horrified look. He grabbed the bag from Rei's hands before she could take Keith up on his suggestion.  
  
"Where's Mina? We need to leave before you and Judas plot against me further."  
  
"She's right behind us, chatting with Shoney and his friend."  
  
Jed looked over Rei's shoulder and grinned. "Honey, his name is Denny."  
  
"Whatever. Let's just grab the girl and go." Rei's feet hurt and the Saturday mall crowd was beginning to get bigger.  
  
The three turned to Mina and her new friends. Denny didn't look as though he was having fun. It was completely understandable as Mina and Jordan were engaged in the age old pastime of flirting. Poor Denny could hardly get a word in edgewise.  
  
Jed walked up to punch Denny in the shoulder. "Hey Denny."  
  
Denny smiled in relief to have someone to talk to. "Jed! Hey Keith. Let me introduce you to my friend." He turned to Jordan and caught his attention. "Jordan, these are friends of mine. This is Jed Hathaway, Mina's older brother."  
  
Jordan shook Jed's hand, turned to Keith and froze.  
  
"And this is-"  
  
"We've met." Keith informed Denny stiffly.  
  
Jordan shifted on his feet uncomfortable. "He's right we have. A long time ago. How have you been Keith?"  
  
Keith didn't reply, opting instead to turn his back on the boy. "It was nice running into you all." His turned back made it clear that 'all' did not include Jordan. "I'll see you later."  
  
Mina stared after Keith in shock.  
  
If Rei was amazed by Keith's behavior she didn't show it. "Keith has the right idea. Let's leave."  
  
Mina turned her astonished look towards Rei.  
  
Somewhat reprimanded for her rudeness, Rei hastily continued. "It was nice meeting you.both of you." She felt it safer to not use names. She knew Mina's ex boyfriend couldn't possibly be named Shoney  
  
Jed grinned down at Rei knowing exactly what her dilemma was. "We'll have to meet up again sometime, Denny." He turned to study his sister and Jordan. He didn't like how close the kid was standing to his sister.  
  
She hastily bid the boys goodbye. "I'd better go. I hope I'll see both of you soon." Mina was looking more at Jordan than Denny.  
  
"Count on it." Jordan said with a strange glint in his eye that Mina brushed off to bad mall lighting.  
  
  
  
  
  
Mina waited until they were in the car to start blasting Keith's behavior.  
  
"How rude was Keith?! What makes him think that it's acceptable to treat people like that? You know, I was beginning to think that maybe he wasn't as bad as I thought. But I was right the first time. He's a stuck up asshole. Poor Jordan!"  
  
Rei shrugged. "Honestly Mina, I don't care if Mr. Won'tShutUp thought Keith was rude. Anyway who talks that much is hellbound." She slanted both Hathaways a look to let them know that they were among the damned.  
  
"Let's ignore her." Jed decided. Mina agreed and Rei snickered. "Keith may not be the most social guy in the world, but I've never seen him act like that to anyone. He must have his reasons."  
  
"Maybe he remembered an errand or something he had to do." Rei offered.  
  
Mina slumped down in the back seat. "Maybe." She agreed, then remembered the way Keith turned his back to Jordan. "Maybe not."  
  
  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
  
  
On Monday Lynda caught up with Mina at school and shocked the hell out of her by apologizing. Mina agreed to meet up at Blue Dog Pizzeria, happy to have her friend back.  
  
"I'm so glad you decided to come Mina. We hardly see each other without other people around."  
  
Mina nodded in agreement. They rarely even talked on the phone anymore.  
  
Lynda continued, voice dripping with apology. "And again, I'm really sorry that we fought at Rendezvous. I only said those things because I was concerned about you. And disappointed."  
  
"Disappointed?"  
  
Lynda's voice betrayed genuine emotion for the first time in the conversation. "I know what people say about me. And I'm okay with it. I'm just doing what needs to be done to stay at the top of our school hierarchy."  
  
"Lynda, you don't have to do anything."  
  
Lynda glowered sullenly at the table. "Yes I do Mina. I'm not as pretty or outgoing as you. Boys wouldn't look twice at me if they didn't think I was easy." She huffed out a breath. "But I don't mind. Do you know why?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I remember what it was like to not be looked at all." She waved a hand dismissively. "But you shouldn't ever have to do the things I do to succeed, Mina. You're better than that."  
  
Mina reached across the table and gripped Lynda's hand in her own. "So are you."  
  
Lynda sniffed. "No more now Mina. Soon I'll start to cry and runny mascara is never attractive."  
  
"Oh I don't know about that. It seems to work for Rose McGowan." She squeezed Lynda's hand. "It's been so long since I've hung out with you."  
  
Lynda withdrew her hand. "Yes. You've been busy with your brother and what's her name."  
  
"Her name is Rei," Mina supplied in a warning tone. "But what's new with the group?"  
  
"Well," Lynda took a deep breath and began. "Marcy read that the early 90's were going to make a comeback, so she met me at the mall yesterday wearing neon orange bicycle shorts and an oversized shirt tied in a knot on the side. She even had one of those ridiculous side ponytails."  
  
Mina tried not to choke on her pizza.  
  
Lynda nodded. "I know. It was like something out of Saved By The Bell. I dragged her into Limited and made her change before anyone saw her. And oh! Did you hear what Todd said to Gena?"  
  
Mina shook her head and settled back to catch up on the happenings of Rivercrest High.  
  
The two chatted for an hour before Lynda made motions to leave. As she was exiting the booth Mina spotted Jordan walking through the door.  
  
Lynda followed Mina's wide eyed gaze to the door. She gazed appreciatively at the boy there. "Can we say hot? Mina if you know him, invite him over."  
  
Mina smiled. "Not to sound immature but," She looked at Lynda, her eyes completely serious. "He's mine. I saw him first." She waved to the boy. "Jordan, over here!"  
  
Jordan paused then made his way over to Mina's table, smiling in fond recognition. "I told you I'd see you again."  
  
Before Mina could respond Lynda introduced herself. "I'm Lynda Benson." She practically purred, ignoring Mina's claim.  
  
"Any friend of Mina's." He said, shaking her offered hand.  
  
Mina knew she had to act quickly. Lynda was her friend but when it came to cute, available boys their friendship had always been lost in competition. And Mina hated to lose. "It's a shame you'll have to part ways so soon after meeting. Lynda was just on her way out."  
  
Lynda forced a smile. "Mina's right. I'm sure I'll see you around Jordy."  
  
Jordan took the seat across from Mina. He leaned across the table. "Would you think I'm an awful person if I told you that I'm glad your friend left?" He whispered jokingly.  
  
Mina grimaced. "She called you Jordy! I'd want her gone if I were you."  
  
He made a face. "She did, didn't she? I hate that nickname. Makes me sound like a five year old." His face became serious. "Actually, I wanted to explain what happened at the mall with Keith."  
  
"He's a pompous ass. What more explanation is there?"  
  
Jordan nodded. "I'm well aware of Keith's.erm snobbishness. Last summer I worked at the country club to make money for school. My parents died when I was sixteen."  
  
As she had with Lynda earlier, Mina reached across the table to squeeze his hand to comfort.  
  
He squeezed her hand back to let her know he was okay talking about it. "They were hardworking people and I loved them. They didn't leave much in the way of inheritance so I've been taking care of myself since their death. I'd like to be a lawyer some day and law school is expensive. The country club was the ideal job for me. I was making good wages as well as contacts for my future. One in particular took me under his wing. Brain Taylor."  
  
"Keith's father."  
  
"Yes. He said I reminded him of himself in a way. And as a businessman he was always looking for a good investment. He believed I was one." He smiled, an eager light entering his eyes. "You see, he needed the best team of cooperate lawyers and if I turned out half as well as he expected I would be a much needed addition to the team. He took me along on golf games with college department heads. Mina, I played eighteen holes with the head of admissions at Stanford! It looked as though my carefully laid plans would actually be realized!"  
  
"What happened?" Mina asked softly.  
  
"Keith happened. I suppose he was jealous of all the attention his father was giving me. And of all the attention Jennifer Hollings was giving me."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"You wouldn't know her. She goes to an all girls academy upstate. Suffice to say Keith fancied her but she wanted me."  
  
"What did you want?" Mina asked in a teasing tone.  
  
"To succeed." Jordan replied. "Jennifer was beautiful but accustomed to getting what she wanted. And on the night of the Summer Ball she turned down Keith because she wanted me. He quickly flew into a rage and accused me of stealing. I was thrown out of the club."  
  
"But he had no proof!"  
  
Jordan shook his had sadly at Mina's naivety. "Keith is wealthy and that equals power. No one at that club would dare question his word." He paused and looked at Mina mournfully. "I lost all contact with Brian Taylor and his friends. They were my big chance at getting into law school. And now it's all gone."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Notes  
  
This chapter is dedicated to Katcin Lee who surprised me with It's Gonna Be Me, and the first two chapter of this story on a webpage in a super pretty format. With picture and everything! Joy!  
  
Anyone else aside from Melete a Jane Austin fan? Because if you are I'm sure you know where I'm going with Jordan. Well, kinda anyway.  
  
Kaze- When you get a keg you put in a barrel of ice (unless you're European and prefer your beer lukewarm. Blech!) to keep it cold for the partygoers. When the keg is empty it floats in the ice. I'd never heard the term either until one obnoxious fellow decided to scream "We've got a floater," twenty or so times at a party until he was threatened with bodily harm. Sooo, floater. Now part of my slang vocabulary through no choice of my own. And now maybe part of yours! ;)  
  
VO1- Blue Gatorade and Jack? That's a bold mix. Congrats on surviving! I don't think I'll ever be compelled to try it. Jungle Juice is as risky as I get. Nothing like drinking something that was mixed in a trashcan or bathtub. On the subject of drink recipes, try Bacardi Limen and Coke. It tastes oddly like Sprite. Though people will look at you as though you're a retarded monkey for suggesting it.  
  
Also, a more introspective Mina coming up in the next chapter or so. Keith's viewpoint won't be written for a few more chapters. He's a bit of a mystery for the time being.  
  
I'm giving the doc option a shot but if it's all screwy I'll replace it by Sun. with txt. Next chapter will go up just as soon I finish transferring it from paper to computer. Yeah, I write old school, yo. Snicker.  
  
Right, running away now before I get even more chatty. 


	4. Karma

Chapter 4  
  
Mina strode through the school hallways furiously the next day. Before hearing Jordan's story she'd been content to dislike Keith for his snobbery. Now she was as close to hating Keith as she'd ever come to hating anyone. She couldn't believe he'd destroy a man's life over something as petty as jealously. She despised him.  
  
Naturally she had first period with him. She chose a seat at the back of the classroom, away from Keith. Lynda walked into the classroom and sneered at Mina before taking the nearest available seat to Keith.  
  
Mina slumped sullenly into her seat. Apparently whatever shaky truce she and Lynda had reached was gone. Fine, back to status quo. They'd chat at parties and in the halls and even sometimes at lunch, but all Lynda said yesterday was to be forgotten. The girl from middle school was gone and she wasn't coming back. It was time for Mina to accept that and move on.  
  
Mrs. Pataki cleared her throat to get the classes attention. "Alright class, we're starting our unit in organic chemistry. The next two weeks will mostly be composed of labs. Please partner up."  
  
Mina held her breath when she saw Keith get out of his seat and head toward her. She released it with a smirk when Lynda intercepted and tugged Keith to a lab table. Her smirk faded when she realized everyone had a lab partner and she was the odd one out. Just as she was resigning herself to working alone, Melvin Collins walked into the room and Mrs. Pataki pointed him towards Mina.  
  
He offered a hopeful smile and a hand. "I guess we'll be working together. I'm Melvin."  
  
Mina shook his hand. "I know." And she did. Melvin Collins had only attended Rivercrest High for two weeks and kept to himself more often then not. But *everyone* already knew that his father was one of the top plastic surgeons in the country. He had been based in New York but moved to California when his second marriage collapsed. Melvin was the product of the first. His brand of choice was Abercrombie and Fitch, he was allergic to bee stings, and he was in the habit of cleaning his glasses with his shirt while he talked.  
  
If Mina had listened more closely to the gossip about Melvin she would have known one more critical thing about Melvin Collin's habit while speaking. Once he got talking he would. Not. Shut. Up.  
  
It wouldn't have been all that bad if he'd actually had something interesting to say. But when he wasn't reading the lab instructions out loud (in a voice better suited for a drama stage), he was babbling about so and so back in New York. Mina did not know so and so and after hearing Melvin drone on for an hour, she devoutly prayed she never met them.  
  
Worst of all, Mina was beginning to share Rei's opinion of talkative people. And thinking like Rei was a bad thing.  
  
"And when Catherine Bergman invited David and I to stay at her house in the Hamptons, we of course accepted. Incidentally I only refer to it as a house because that is how she described it. In realty it is a mansion of such grandeur-"  
  
"Hey Melvin?" Mina decided the only way to get a word in bladewise was to cut him off. "What about your friends here?"  
  
He frowned. "I haven't really had time to make friends yet."  
  
If he found anything odd about making no effort towards making friends, his tone didn't suggest it. In fact, he sounded as if Mina had asked him what color his underwear was.  
  
Mina just nodded and went back to the experiment. While she was sorry for his predicament, she could see how he'd gotten himself into this position.  
  
  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
  
  
  
For the first time in weeks the Hathaway family sat down for dinner together. Only one member of the family still relished the once common tradition, for there was nothing she enjoyed more than having all her targets in once place.  
  
"Dear, do sit up straighter. You look like an ape hunched over your soup like that." This was addressed to her husband who moved maybe an inch, but otherwise ignored his wife. "Jedidiah, when will you bring your girlfriend over for dinner?"  
  
Jed cringed at the use of his given name and refrained from pointing out that this was the first "family dinner" everyone had been present at in well over a month. "Sometime soon."  
  
"I don't want her thinking she's not welcome. You did well in snagging her. A senator's daughter no less!"  
  
Jed sighed to his soup. "Mom, I'm not dating Rei because of her father's job."  
  
Meredith Hathaway gave her son a sharp look. "Of course you aren't! And I won't have anyone at the country club saying that the Hathaway's are social climbers!" Her gaze switched from sharp to sly. "However, since you are dating the girl, there's no reason our family shouldn't enjoy the benefits of your association with Senator Hino."  
  
Jed was getting upset. "Mom! There are no benefits! Rei hardly even sees her father. If I do bring her to dinner I don't want you to mention any of this."  
  
Meredith bristled. "Of course I wouldn't-"  
  
"I'm serious mother. Drop anything having to do with Senator Hino from your mind. Rei's father has nothing to do with why I'm with her."  
  
His mother didn't answer her son and instead turned her well meaning attention towards Mina. "I hear you've been spending some time with Keith Taylor."  
  
Mina did her best not to hunch her shoulders defensively. "Not that much time Mom."  
  
"You'd do well to spend more time. Brian Taylor brings in 23.6 million a year and one day it will all be Keith's."  
  
Both Hathaway children discreetly rolled their eyes and vowed to hide Forbes in the trash from now on.  
  
"Mo-om! Even if I dated Keith, which by the way would *never* happen, I'm sixteen years old! I'm not going to marry him."  
  
"And why not? I was only two years older than you when I married your father."  
  
"Nobody gets married that young anymore unless the girl is knocked up!"  
  
Jed choked on his soup and Meredith released an outraged gasp. But before she could reprimand her daughter, James Hathaway interrupted with a laugh.  
  
"Really dear, she has a point. It's not the thing to do anymore. Come to think of it, it wasn't then either. Which is why we waited seven years before having children."  
  
His wife's tongue stilled, he turned his attention to his children. "I'll be taking your mother out of firing range next week. She'll accompany me on my trip to D.C."  
  
Mina and Jed beamed and made eye contact with one another for no more than three seconds, nothing else needed to communicate the inevitable.  
  
The party gods would be appeased.  
  
  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
  
  
  
"I'm thinking that we'll throw the party on Saturday so that the house is ours and ours alone for the rest of the week. You're included in that 'ours' by the way." This was addressed to Rei during the trek to first period.  
  
"Oh sure, I'll just tell my mom that I'm moving in with my boyfriend and his sister while their parents are out of town. That'll go over well."  
  
Mina easily shrugged off Rei's sarcasm. "Tell her that we're working on a project for History. She'll go for it as long as you leave out the whole my parents not being there part."  
  
"School nights might be a problem."  
  
Mina rolled her eyes at Rei. "Just give it a try."  
  
Rei huffed out a breath, tugging her backpack up further. "So should I follow you home on Friday or just show up early on Saturday to help set up?"  
  
Mina laughed. "The only setting up I plan to do is pour some Chex mix in a bowl while Jed taps the keg. There's no point in doing anything else. It's not as though everyone will be showing up for the atmosphere."  
  
"I'd put anything fragile or valuable in one room and lock the door."  
  
Mina nodded. "Good idea. Last time I had to spend an entire Saturday trying to find replicas of these hideous lamps that mom had in the living room. Anyway, I don't care if you show up to set up as long as you stay to clean up."  
  
"Lazy." Rei accused.  
  
"You bet. See you at lunch."  
  
Rei waved goodbye half heartedly and began the trek to first period.  
  
"When is your party?"  
  
Mina gasped and spun around clutching a hand to her chest. "Don't do that Melvin! You scared me sick!"  
  
He furrowed his brows. "I'm sorry. I've been behind you for awhile now. I thought you knew."  
  
Mina shrugged it off. "The party is Saturday. I hope you'll be there." She felt as though a weight had been lifted as soon as she gave the invite. Sure he was as annoying as a squirrel on speed but he had no friends. This would be an opportunity for him to meet some new people.  
  
"Oh yes, especially if she'll be there." He exclaimed as he went into the classroom.  
  
Mina looked around the hall but there were a lot of girls and she had no idea who Melvin was talking about. She made a mental note to ask Melvin who he'd been talking about at the party. Maybe Mina the Matchmaker could make reappearance.  
  
  
  
"I invited Melvin to the party." Mina announced as she slide into the booth across from Rei at La Hacienda.  
  
"There's no point in personally inviting anyone to this sort of thing. Half the people will be complete strangers." Rei admonished, idly playing with her straw.  
  
"Melvin's not the type of person who'd feel comfortable crashing. And anyway, he overheard us talking about the party. It would have been rude not to invite him."  
  
"Is he the guy with the hair that was following us in the hall?"  
  
Mina winced. Melvin had a bowl haircut in its purest form. "That's him."  
  
Rei waved a dismissive hand. "Okay. I don't know why you think I care."  
  
Mina grinned. "In bitch mode, much?"  
  
Rei struck a pose. "Have you known me to be anything less?"  
  
Mina just shook her head then immediately slumped down into her seat as Keith entered the restaurant.  
  
Rei immediately took notice. "Oh look, it's Keith! Shall I call him over?"  
  
"NO!"  
  
Rei smirked at Mina's reaction.  
  
Mina glared. "Geez, you're being totally obnoxious. Are you channeling my brother or something?"  
  
"I dunno, are you channeling a lovesick puppy? Just drop the Elementary school bullshit and go talk to him."  
  
Mina shot up straight in her seat and glared in earnest. "I have absolutely no romantic feelings towards that jerk!" She hissed. "He's an asshole of the highest order and I'd die happy if I never spoke to him again."  
  
Rei was taken aback by the uncharacteristic ferocity in Mina's statement. "You're actually serious, aren't you?"  
  
"Never more."  
  
"Look, I know he was rude to Jordan the other day, but does that really justify this new opinion of him? True, Keith's a bit standoffish but I'm sure the same could be said of me."  
  
"You're not standoffish Rei. You're mean."  
  
"Fair enough."  
  
"And as for Keith.he's evil."  
  
"Ouch! That's a bit drastic. Especially since I though you were warming up to him after his party."  
  
Mina sniffed. "Alcohol has a way of warping things into something they're not. In my intoxicated state I was deluded into believing that Keith Taylor somewhat resembled a decent human being. And then I sobered up."  
  
Rei's eyebrows host up towards the ceiling halfway through Mina's impassioned speech and showed no sign of coming down. "All this because he was rude to Jordan? I'd love to see what you do to a guy who doesn't hold the door open for you on a date!"  
  
"There's so much more to it than that. But you are right. It does have to do with Jordan."  
  
"My ears are burning."  
  
Both girls jumped in their seats.  
  
"When did you get here?" Mina asked as casually as possible.  
  
"I just walked in and heard my name. What kind of gossip have you been spreading about me, darling Mina?"  
  
Mina's hands fluttered of their own accord, as if trying to grasp a plausible answer from thin air. Luckily Rei chose that moment to come out of her stupor and try to cover Mina's ass.  
  
"She was just wondering if she should invite you to her house on Saturday. She's having a party and would love for you to come. I told her you probably had a dozen other things to do, what with you being in college and all."  
  
Jordan looked to Mina for confirmation and she nodded weakly.  
  
"I'd love to come Mina." He handed her a pen. "Do me a favor and write directions to your house down on this napkin and I'll do my best to show up."  
  
Beaming, Mina handed him the napkin. "See that you do."  
  
Jordan pocketed the directions. "Until then." He kissed Mina's hand and left her watching him walk away with dreamy eyes.  
  
Rei was entirely unimpressed. "Let's get out of here before karma kicks us in the ass again."  
  
Mina waited until they were outside to address Rei's statement. "How was that karma?"  
  
"Talk about someone behind their back and they show up halfway through. It's a liberal interpretation, I know. Not to mention all that Keith hatred you spewed back there. That's really gonna hurt when karma catches up."  
  
"Kind of like parking in a handicapped space and being towed for it?" Mina asked, pointing ahead towards the tow truck backing up towards Rei's BMW.  
  
"Yeah, only that can't be my car. I didn't park in a-" She froze as she caught sight of the license plate and the handicapped sign she'd missed earlier. "Oh Jesus, no! She whispered before springing into action. "Hey you!" She screamed as she broke into a run. "Drop that hook unless you want it shoved up your-"  
  
Mina ceased to listen as she realized that she'd left her purse in the restaurant. Sparing the tow truck man the most pitying of glances she turned and jogged back into La Hacienda. She sighed in relief when she saw her bag just as she'd left it against the wall on the booth seat. She grabbed it and on her wait out saw something that made her pause.  
  
Jordan and Keith were facing each other down at the back of the restaurant. Their stances suggested that it was high noon at the O.K. Corral.  
  
Keith's posture was completely aggressive, shoulders forward, fists clenched. He looked ready to lunge at the slightest warning. She couldn't see his face but Mina could well imagine the cold, closed off anger streaking across it. Jordan on the other palm looked oddly tense and relaxed at the same time. His face was full of mocking contempt.  
  
She could tell that they were speaking in low, harsh whispers. Mina inched cautiously closer, trying to hear what they were saying. But before she could hear a word, a horn blared outside declaring that Rei had won the battle with the tow truck and Mina had better hurry her ass up.  
  
Mina contemplated ignoring Rei's rude summons, but the horn honked again and Mina knew not to push her luck. With one last curious look at the bristling males she hurried outside.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Notes  
  
  
  
It's official. We've moved out of the It's Gonna Be Me timeline completely into Underneath It All.  
  
Pride and Prejudice is one of my all time favorite books. This, like Clueless, is a loose interpretation of the events and characters created by Jane Austin. Some characters have been left in the literary dust and others have evolved to fit their new environment. Jed and Rei for example, switch off between Jane and Bingley. And though Lynda isn't Mina's sister, she plays a very Lydia like character. And yes Jordan Wicklam is my version of George Wickham. Rather than make him a soldier, I'm given him another profession. It'll be revealed soon.  
  
Definite "Mina time" coming up in the next chapter. She's long overdue for an inner conference, I know. I don't think Mina's naïve so much as too nice. She just tries to see the best in people and sometimes she allows the good to cancel out the obvious bad. It can lead to bad situations, true. But I think Mina has too many people looking out for her for her to get into serious trouble.  
  
Li Ying Fa- You wrote of the cursed drink. To many the Purple Haze experience is fun. But Purple Hazes hate me. I won't even go into the depths of how hard they've kicked my ass in the past, but suffice to say it was the sneakiest hangover I've ever had. Actually, anything with Vodka is bad. Shudder.  
  
Next chapter will be up in a week or two. Definitely before Halloween weekend. I need to devote as much time as possible to my favorite holiday! Again I have to take from paper to type. It's a stupid way of writing, but the thing is I write the majority of these chapters during long, boring lectures. Yep, all that money I'm pumping into college is well spent! Leave a comment or question or even a complaint at the door and I'll go back to working on chapter five. 


	5. Responsibility

"You're taking more care with your appearance than usual." Rei wrinkled her nose. "If that's even possible."  
  
Mina's glare was delivered via mirror. "I'm the hostess. With great power comes great stress."  
  
Rei snorted. "That's a good one Mina. Uncle Ben couldn't have said it better." She waved off Mina's confused expression. "Whatever, you're not doing anything extra special for hosting." Her smile brightened and her tone turned childlike. "You're making yourself pretty for Jordan."  
  
Mina jerked, the movement so slight Rei would have missed it if she hadn't been watching for it. "That's ridiculous, Rei!"  
  
"But it's true!" Her childish tone included a sing song element. "You're wearing lipstick. You want Jordan to kiss you. You want to reapply lipstick a million times for him. You-"  
  
Mina's hand clamped over Rei's mouth, ending the bizarre song. "You," Mina began, frowning at Rei. "Are behaving entirely too much like my brother."  
  
Rei tried to gasp in denial, but found it difficult with Mina's hand positioned as it was. She pried it from her mouth. "So you really like Jordan?"  
  
Mina nodded. "I think so. He's really nice and funny and-"  
  
"Just be careful, okay?"  
  
Mina straightened and studied her friend. "You don't like him? I thought you did."  
  
"I don't dislike Jordan. I just get a.creepy vibe from him."  
  
Mina relaxed. "Rei, you think that Russell Crowe gives off creepy vibes."  
  
"He does! He's all creepy and Australian and Gladiator was the worst movie ever! I don't care what century you're living in- you don't take a nap and wake up enslaved! It's-"  
  
"Rei? Off topic."  
  
"Huh? Oh right Russell Crowe. He just always has this scary 'I'm mentally murdering your kitten' look on his face."  
  
"When would be a good time to remind you that you've never met the man?"  
  
Rei sniffed, offended. "But that's my point. I wouldn't want to meet him. He's creepy."  
  
Mina sighed in defeat and Rei became serious again.  
  
"Look, I'm not saying that Jordan is a bad guy. I'm just saying that so far I haven't seen any evidence that he's a good guy either. So just.be careful."  
  
Mina flashed a mega watt smile. "I always am."  
  
Rei rolled her eyes and a knock sounded at the door.  
  
"Come in."  
  
Jed swooped in. "We've got an hour or so before anyone shows up." He pointed at Rei. "You promised to watch Cowboy Bebop with me."  
  
She blanched, even though she had no idea what Cowboy Bebop was. "I did no such thing!"  
  
He pouted. "Did too. When you got here I asked what you wanted to do and you said that whatever I wanted to do was fine."  
  
"That's hardly a vow." She crossed her arms stubbornly on principle. "Maybe I don't want to watch Cowboy Bebop."  
  
Jed's pout turned into a grin. "Tough." Before she could duck away, she found herself tossed over Jed's shoulder, ass in the air.  
  
"Put me down or you will die." Rei explained in a terrifyingly calm voice.  
  
Jed flinched but held his ground. "You'll kill me anyway." He winked at his sister as he left, unable to wave. His hands were other wise occupied.  
  
Rei let out a frustrated scream as she was carried away but Mina wasn't feeling sympathetic. Truth be told, she was a bit jealous. Jed was head over heels for Rei.  
  
Not that she wanted her brother. Because ew! Wrong!  
  
But Rei and Jed were so perfectly suited for one another that it was almost frustrating. Jed didn't let Rei push him around and she didn't put up with his bullshit. Not to mention the way their eyes got all soft and mushy when they thought no one was looking.  
  
Mina was a romantic, she wouldn't deny it. But sometimes it was really hard to be around her brother and his girlfriend. It was never fun being the spare tire. She wanted someone of her own.  
  
Admittedly she hadn't taken relationships seriously in the past, choosing to date casually rather than looking for commitment. Tonight she planned to change her game strategy.  
  
For the larger part, boys at Rivercrest High were totally unacceptable. They were typical high school boys: immature, loud, rude, and possessive. True there were exceptions. And Mina had already dated most of them. But after the chase was over, she quickly grew bored.  
  
Jordan could be different, if only in age in maturity. She felt comfortable around him. Not 'I could meet him in my pjs, with three hours sleep and no shower' comfortable. More like 'I won't make a fool of myself' comfortable. Or something like that.  
  
In any case she was looking forward to Jordan coming to the party. He was cute, funny, and always up for a good time. And that was what she wanted in a man, right? She knew that she didn't love him and that she never would. But she wasn't looking for love. She just wanted a boyfriend who she and everyone she knew liked.  
  
Everyone, except Keith. But who really got on well with Keith?  
  
Just about everyone, Mina allowed herself to admit. Despite being standoffish and silent, Mina hadn't really heard any complaints from the student body.  
  
And her brother, despite his outgoing nature, didn't lend his trust easily. And Keith had it completely. Even grumpy Rei liked Keith.  
  
Mina frowned deeply at her reflection. Why was she even thinking about Keith? She was supposed to be excited about Jordan. If she was lucky Keith wouldn't even show up.  
  
Mina wandered down the stairs and away from her thoughts. Rei's voice rose up to greet her from the den and Mina stood outside the door and listened.  
  
"No! I don't give a damn if it was the best show ever created! You can't toss me over your shoulder, cart me downstairs, and expect me to do whatever you want!"  
  
"Come on, Rei. It really is a good show. You'd be missing out for nothing."  
  
"It's the principle of the thing." Rei's voice rang stubbornly.  
  
"Please."  
  
"Oh! Now the puppy dog eyes! That's cheating and you know it!"  
  
'Tank', began to play in the living room. Jed's voice became a combination of annoyance and barely restrained laughter. "Rei, open your eyes. Now you're just being childish!"  
  
"Oh, and it was so mature to throw me over your shoulder like a rag doll."  
  
"Please. Please. Pleeeeeze."  
  
"What did I say about the puppy eyes? I'm immune. You'll have to devise a new method of swaying-" Rei's voice was cut off abruptly. It took little imagination to figure out that Jed had kissed her into silence.  
  
Shaking her head, Mina went to the kitchen and made a bowl of popcorn. She stomped to the living room to give the couple fair warning. She sincerely hoped that they were through kissing and vowed that tonight would end her stint as tag along Mina.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The party was in full swing and as Rei had predicted over half were unfamiliar faces. Melvin had been one of the first to show up, but Mina hadn't had a chance to ask him who the girl he liked was. She hadn't had to.  
  
He was glued to Rei's side and despite the girl's attempts to get rid of him, he was for all appearances permanently attatched. Rei, in the beginning, had tried to spare Melvin's feelings. But in the interest of escaping she looked ready to move straight past rude to violent. Rei's fist kept rapidly clenching and unclenching and Mina knew it was time to intervene. She snagged Jed by his shirt collar as she leapt to Rei's (actually Melvin's) defense.  
  
"Jesus, Mina! I think I'm gonna bruise." Jed whined, rubbing his neck.  
  
"Really? Well, Rei's going to make Melvin bleed if we don't get him away from her."  
  
Jed followed the direction Mina's finger was pointed just in time to see Rei draw back her left arm. "Shit." Bowling people over in his haste, he surged through the crowd in time to grab Rei's fist before it could make contact. Smoothing it open he brought her palm to his mouth. She glared at him as he twined their fingers together.  
  
'Kill. You." Rei mouthed.  
  
With twinkling eyes he turned to Melvin. "I see you've already met my charming girlfriend. I'm Jed Hathaway."  
  
Melvin shook Jed's free hand with a bitter look. Message received. "Melvin Collins."  
  
Mina finally stumbled out of the crowd and the sour look on Melvin's face faded. "Mina would you like to dance?"  
  
"Umm." Mina supplied as she searched for an escape route.  
  
Rei wasn't going to allow it. As far as she was concerned Mina was the reason she'd been forced to spend an hour with Melvin glued to her side. Mina had, after all, been the one to invite him. Smiling sharply, she leaned forward. "Mina's always going on about how she loves this song Melvin. Go ahead Mina, I don't mind."  
  
Mina gave Rei the glare-o-death as she was dragged away.  
  
"That wasn't very nice." Jed chided, releasing Rei's hand in order to wrap both arms around her waist and pull her close. "She rushed me over here to save you."  
  
"Some boyfriend you turned out to be." Rei grumbled as she leaned into him. "Anyway, Mina was the one who invited him so she's the one who should get to enjoy his company." Her smile became smug as Melvin stepped on Mina's foot, and then apologized profusely.  
  
Jed observed the exchange and cringed. "She's going to make your life hell."  
  
"It'll be worth it."  
  
  
  
  
  
Mina smiled politely and waited for the song to end so she could escape. Rei would be sleeping on the downstairs couch, she decided. Amidst the beer cans and whatever trash was left behind. Oh yes, that would do nicely.  
  
She wasted no time once the song ended. "Thanks for dancing with me Melvin, but I should get back to my guests." She melded into the crowd and started chatting with a group that had a clear view of the door. She hoped Jordan showed up soon.  
  
"Looking for someone, Mina dear?"  
  
Mina looked at Lynda and felt her stomach knot at the look on the girls face. "Jordan said he'd drop by so I'm keeping an eye out."  
  
Lynda raised an elbow and studied her blood red nails. "You didn't actually think he'd show, did you? Why would a college man spend his time at a high school party?"  
  
Mina glared. "I personally invited him."  
  
"My point exactly." Lynda's smirk softened into something resembling a smile as she spied someone over Mina's shoulder. "Great party, by the way. You always did throw the best bashes!"  
  
Mina gave Lynda a look normally reserved for retarded monkeys. "Huh?"  
  
Lynda's smile went up a notch. "Keith! I was hoping to run into you!"  
  
Keith's wince was barely noticeable. "Yes. Well. Here I am." He looked down helplessly at the viselike grip Lynda had on his arm. "Actually I was just about to ask our lovely hostess to dance with me."  
  
Mina was so busy trying not to laugh out loud at the look on Keith's face that she almost didn't process the question. "Wait? Me?"  
  
"Yes you Mina. May I please have this dance?" His eyes begged her to help him out of Lynda's grasp.  
  
Mina would have refused if Lynda hadn't spoken up.  
  
"Oh Mina doesn't want to dance. She fully intends to spend the rest of this night looking longingly at the door." She laughed at the end as if to soften the insult into a joke but no one bought it.  
  
Mina beamed at Lynda as she answered Keith. "I'd love to dance with you Keith." She tugged his arm away from Lynda and led him to the floor.  
  
It was entirely possible that dancing with Keith was even more awkward than dancing with Melvin. Mina at first looked at everything but Keith's face. Unfortunately Keith towered over her, so her choices were limited to staring at Keith's chest or twisting her head to awkward angles to look around him. Which would just be strange. And the more she looked at Keith's chest the more appealing it became. In a desperate pitch for sanity, Mina found herself looking Keith in the eye.  
  
"This is really awkward. We'd better talk or everyone will assume that we're bitter enemies."  
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that the silence was awkward. Your brother's always telling me that I'm too silent. It's one of the reasons why I admire you Mina. You always find something to say."  
  
"So I'm a chatter cube, am I? It's a shame we can't all be silent statues like you." It was said with a determined grin as she began to ignore the weirdness of the position and crane her neck to peer around Keith.  
  
"I didn't mean to offend you. It was a compliment." He frowned when she gave no response but kept looking around him. "Are you looking for someone, or just politely ignoring me?"  
  
"Actually I'm looking for Jordan Wicklam. Perhaps you know him?"  
  
Keith's entire countenance darkened but before he could speak the song ended and Mina stepped out of his arms.  
  
"Actually, I don't think I want to hear anything about Jordan from you Keith. Enjoy the party."  
  
Mina's exit would have been much more dramatic if Melvin hadn't appeared by her side the second she turned away from Keith and latched onto her arm, making both stumble a bit.  
  
"You look upset Mina. I noticed the two of you arguing but thought it best not to step in. But if you require it of me, I'll gladly go take care of that bully for you."  
  
Mina twisted gently, escaping Melvin's grasp with minimal effort. She gave Melvin a doubtful once over, comparing him with Keith who had six inches in height and well, muscles that Melvin would never possess. "No need Melvin." She scanned the crowd, politely ignoring Melvin. The boy remained at her side. "Is there something I can help you with, Melvin?"  
  
"Oh no. I don't really know anyone but you, so I figured I'd stick with you all night."  
  
Mina frowned and scanned the people until she made eye contact with Rei. Without words she made her message clear. 'Help me or I'll find the most painful way imaginable to make you pay.'  
  
Rei rolled her eyes but made her way towards Mina. Before she could arrive Melvin's cell phone went off. He excused himself to take the call.  
  
"I'm going to kill you." Mina cheerfully informed Rei as soon as she arrived.  
  
"Now, now Mina. You were the one who invited him. You'd be a horrible hostess if you didn't spend time with your guests. Especially those who got a personal invite."  
  
"I did mention the killing part, didn't I?"  
  
Rei laughed. "Oh come on. The tiny shove I gave you to towards the dance floor doesn't warrant death."  
  
"You're right, it doesn't. But you will be spending the night on the couch."  
  
Rei gave the crowded couch a look of disgust. "That's cruel and unusual punishment, Mina. I saw that Gary kid spill an entire beer on the arm rest and," she squinted a couple on the couch and quickly turned away. "I'm pretty sure Jessica and Brian are well on their way past third."  
  
Mina gaped at Rei, and then gaped at the couple. "Oh. My. God. That's so not my territory! Please grab Jed to break it up."  
  
"As long as you promise never to make me sleep on that couch. No, scratch that. I never want to sit on it again."  
  
Mina nodded fervently and Rei shoved the crowd out of her way in search of Jed. "I wonder if I could burn the couch without Mom and Dad noticing." She pondered out loud to herself.  
  
"Mina!" Melvin filled the space that Rei had just vacated. "I'm so sorry to say this, but I have to leave. Apparently I have a curfew I was unaware of."  
  
"When?"  
  
"About an hour ago, actually. I've had a wonderful time though. Would it be presumptuous to ask for a hug goodbye?"  
  
Mina cringed inwardly but leaned into a brief hug. When she pulled back she caught Melvin searching her face with a look that suggested he was about to kiss her. She backed out of the hug and grabbed his hand, shaking it firmly. "I'm glad you could make it Melvin. I'll see you at school." She smiled cheerily and backed away towards the kitchen.  
  
  
  
  
  
Rei found Jed in the den talking with Keith. Pushing a girl in a tube top out of her way she stormed towards her boyfriend.  
  
Keith saw her coming. "Rei looks pissed." He dryly observed.  
  
"Rei always looks pissed." Jed replied with the cheerful conviction of a besotted man.  
  
"I'm right behind you, Jed. Anything to add to that?" Rei asked from around his back.  
  
Jed turned to beam hopefully at his girlfriend. "And that's why I love her?"  
  
Rei rolled her eyes. "Right. I'd love to stand around and listen to you expand that but there's a situation Mina needs you to diffuse."  
  
Jed almost bounced. "Is it a fight? I've always wanted to break up a fight."  
  
Rei patted his hand. "And I'm sure you'd be very good at it dear. But that's not the problem. Jessica and Brain have decided not to save themselves for marriage."  
  
Jed shrugged. "That's not my problem."  
  
"They're on the couch in the living room."  
  
Jed yelped something about his mother's 3,000 dollar couch and leapt into the crowd.  
  
Rei turned towards Keith. "So, having a fun time?"  
  
Keith ignored her question. "You're Mina's best friend, right?"  
  
Rei shifted awkwardly. "I guess so."  
  
"You have to keep her away from Jordan Wicklam."  
  
Rei shook her head. "Look Keith, I know its tough liking someone and having to compete for their attention with someone else-"  
  
"That's not it." Keith ran an impatient hand through his hair. "Jordan Wicklam is dangerous. I can't tell you why or how I know."  
  
Rei studied him. "I think that's the most I've ever heard you say."  
  
Keith frowned down at her. "You're turning into your boyfriend. I'm serious. Please."  
  
Rei glared at him. "I wish people would stop saying that."  
  
His frown deepened but he didn't say anything.  
  
Rei threw her hands up in frustration. "I'm not in charge of Mina. I can't tell her who she can and can't see. And to be honest with you Keith, I've met Jordan. I don't necessarily like him, but I don't think he's evil incarnate either; and unless you give me a reason to, I can't do anything but tell Mina to be careful." Rei held up a hand to prevent Keith from cutting her off mid rant. "Which I've already done. Jordan's too.slick to be good."  
  
Keith gripped Rei's shoulders. "He's a lot more than slick Rei. You just have to trust me on this."  
  
Rei shook her head. "I can't control Mina. Why don't you bring this up with Jed?"  
  
"He'll go into psycho older brother mode. You know him." He leaned toward Rei. "Fine. You can't control her. I know that. Just keep an eye on her. And make sure she doesn't meet him alone."  
  
Rei's eyes widened. "Now you're scaring me." She sighed. "I'll do my best, but I can't stick to her 24/7." She leaned so close that her forehead was almost touching his. "You can't tell me why it's so vital that I keep Mina away from him and I accept that. But if anything happens to her that could have been prevented with the information you have, then you'll be the one to pay. Understand?"  
  
Keith nodded.  
  
"What's going on?" Jed appeared beside them and studied Keith's grip on Rei with suspicion.  
  
Rei smirked at Keith and dislodged his grip from her shoulders by stepping back. "Keith was just asking me about Mina."  
  
The suspicion on Jed's face didn't change a bit. "You seem awfully interested in my little sister lately, Keith? Anything I should know about."  
  
Keith sighed and made a mental note not to piss Rei off ever again. She knew the right buttons to push. "You don't have to worry about Mina and me. I'd better get home. Just keep an eye on her, okay?"  
  
Jed frowned after his friend in confusion before turning to his girlfriend. "What was that intense exchange with Keith really about?"  
  
"He was explaining the benefits of dating him as opposed to, well.you."  
  
Jed gaped at her in disbelief.  
  
She laughed. "Just kidding! We really were talking about Mina." She noticed the mentioned girl heading towards them. "I'll tell you about it later." She promised.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Notes  
  
  
  
:::::: Waves timidly at readers.::::::  
  
Hi. Remember me? The author who used to update on a regular basis?  
  
Yeah. I guess that aspiration's been shot to hell in the month (or more) it's taken me to pound out this chapter. I could blame it on a lot of things- papers, tests, finding somewhere to live next year, writer's block, blah, blah, blah, whine, whine, and whine. In other words I let RL take up more time than I should have and dropped the ball as far as Underneath It All is concerned. I apologize to those of you who've been waiting patiently for the next installment. I'd promise to never do it again, but I promised that this chapter would be out before Halloween and look how that turned out. I'll try to be better though.  
  
:::: Bats eyes hopefully.::::  
  
Forgive me?  
  
  
  
Sweet Flame of Vipers made the valid point that Rei and Jed act nothing like mild mannered (read boring) Jane and Mr. Bingley. She's right. I wasn't clear enough in my notes. They play the roles of the two without the characteristics. Confused? Yeah, me too. They're the confidants of Keith and Mina but they don't act like Jane and Mr. B.  
  
  
  
I also cannot stress enough that though this is a modernized Pride and Prejudice, it's not a purist version of the book. Think of this of it as a Bridget Jone's Diary interpretation: some of the same character types and plots and names, but much as been dropped, altered, or added. Take Jordan for example- his fate will be different from Wickham's. As will Lynda's.  
  
On another note, the Shittenou forums are up and running. It's the Disneyland of message boards! Come over and play if you're a general/senshi fan. 


	6. Strange Land

Mina was beginning to feel like a prisoner. For some reason Jed and Rei were acting hyper protective. In the week since the party she hadn't been able to go anywhere without one or both trailing her like secret service. She loved her brother and his girlfriend dearly but if they didn't give her a moment alone she was going to kick them in the face!  
  
Luckily for the two, they reluctantly left for a date before Mina had a chance to test her high kick. She was only able to convince them to leave after swearing north and south that she planned to do nothing more than stay home and watch movies. Jed was suspicious but Rei seemed to sense Mina's frustration and dragged her boyfriend away. Neither saw the fingers Mina had crossed behind her back.  
  
As soon as they were gone Mina dashed upstairs to change. She felt like she was sneaking out on her parents instead of her brother. It probably should have made more sense, but her parents were less than strict.  
  
The least Rei and Jed could do was tell her why they were acting so freaky, but posing the question had only led to them acting even stranger. The long drawn out answer they gave her had been filled with a lot ohs, ums, and ers and left Mina with the vague impression that they were sticking by her for a family life course. And that they were both horrible liars.  
  
She waved enthuasticaly at Lynda and Karen as she entered Rendezvous. She was still a bit pissed at Lynda but truth be told she was also happy at the prospect of spending time with someone who wasn't Rei or Jed. Hell, she'd even welcome Keith at this point.  
  
She gave the club a quick scan, lest thinking about the boy actually summon him. Instead of Keith she saw Jordan. He grinned at her and she happily headed to him.  
  
"It's been awhile."  
  
She pouted. "I know. You didn't show up at my party."  
  
He winced. "I'm so sorry Mina. I couldn't make it."  
  
Mina studied him. "Did Keith have anything to do with it?"  
  
Something flashed across Jordan's face too quickly for Mina to recognize. "He did have a bit to do with it." Before he could elaborate a shifty looking guy inched foreword to tap Jordan on the shoulder. No words were exchanged but somehow a message was communicated.  
  
Jordan turned back to Mina with an apologetic smile. "I'm afraid there's something I need to take care of. I trust I'll find you again before you leave?"  
  
She nodded and with a shrug turned to the dance floor. Before she had a chance to step out onto it, Lynda snagged her.  
  
"Mina," she said, eyes gleaming. "You simply must hear my news." Without waiting for Mina's agreement she dragged her off to the bar.  
  
Shaking her head Mina signaled the bartender for a bottle of water and turned to Lynda. "Well?"  
  
"Keith asked me out!"  
  
Mina was glad that her water hadn't arrived yet. No moment in her life had ever required a spit take more. The last time she'd seen Keith he'd been desperate to escape from Lynda's grasping claws.  
  
Lynda stiffened as Mina did nothing but stare at her with her mouth working helplessly for words. "Keith asked me out. I said yes. Really, Mina it's not too complicated a process to understand even for a blonde."  
  
"It's just a bit of a shock." So was the ache in the pit of her stomach but she'd rather chalk it up to thirst than analyze it.  
  
"How so?" Lynda hissed with narrowed eyes.  
  
"Truth? Keith seems more interested in escaping you than spending time with you." Mina winced at her unexpected candor. She had definitely too much time around Rei and not enough around civilization.  
  
Lynda's eyes narrowed further into slits and her hands curled into fists. "You think he wants you, don't you? Well guess what? You lose. So back off and stop trying to steal him from me!"  
  
Before Mina could begin to respond the bartender arrived with her water. He waved off her money. "No need miss. The guy over there has you covered. If you need anything else let me know."  
  
Mina looked curiously in the direction the bartender pointed and smiled when Jordan lifted his glass to her.  
  
She hopped off the bar stool and turned to face Lynda. "You seem to think we've both been in competition for Keith Taylor but you're wrong. I couldn't care less about high school boys, Keith in particular. Now excuse me while I go thank Jordan for buying me a drink."  
  
She left Lynda fuming.  
  
"That looked interesting?" Jordan wryly remarked as Mina slid onto the seat next to him.  
  
Mina rolled her eyes. "Unbelievably so."  
  
"May I ask what it was about?"  
  
She grinned. "Who is the biggest needle in both our sides?"  
  
"Keith Taylor?" When Mina nodded he let out a sputtering laugh. "What now?"  
  
Mina leaned foreword. "Lynda and Keith are dating. How that boring bit of information nearly started a cat fight is beyond me."  
  
Jordan's eyes narrowed speculatively. "Wait a second. You're telling me that Keith is dating her?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"It's just that- never mind."  
  
Mina tilted her head. "What?"  
  
"It thought that he was interested in you."  
  
She couldn't help but laugh. "Oh no! I don't think he even likes me all that much. At the most he's indifferent."  
  
"Really?" Jordan's eyes searched out Lynda in the crowd and held. "Interesting. Very interesting."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Okay class, settle down. Today we're going to be working with some dangerous chemicals. I cannot stress enough the importance of following the directions specifically." Mrs. Pataki instructed as the students shuffled to their lab seats.  
  
Melvin hurried to sit beside Mina.  
  
"I don't know if I told you but I had a wonderful time at your party."  
  
He had in fact mentioned this already. Six time to be precise.  
  
Mina smiled wanly at Melvin and replied with what had become her standard response. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself Melvin. Now we'd better get started. We don't want to fall behind the rest of the class, do we?"  
  
Melvin beamed at her attentiveness to study and trotted off to get the supplies.  
  
Mina used Melvin's absence and subsequent silence as an opportunity to observe Keith and Lynda. They certainly didn't seem a couple. Lynda was whispering something into his ear which seemed rather chummy, but Keith looked more annoyed than enthralled. Maybe annoyance was just his natural expression. Mina laughed out loud at the thought and Keith's eyes shot towards the sound.  
  
The smile slid off her face as she found herself subject to Keith's intense gaze. After what seemed like an eternity he quirked an eyebrow and granted her a half smile.  
  
"Mina?"  
  
Blushing for reasons she couldn't explain, Mina jerked her gaze away from Keith to Melvin. He was holding the supplies they needed and studying her with a slight frown.  
  
"Oh good, you have everything. Let's get started."  
  
"Is Keith Taylor bothering you again?" He set the supplies on the table and grabbed Mina's closest hand. "Don't worry Mina. I'll give him a stern talking to after class."  
  
Mina blanched and gently tugged her hand from his grip. "Keith wasn't bothering me."  
  
"I want you to know that there's nothing I wouldn't do for you, Mina."  
  
"I appreciate that Melvin, but there's no need for you to go to such lengths. If there was ever any trouble that I couldn't handle Jed would step in." Because Mina was focused on sorting their supplies and not Melvin's face she missed the grimace at the mention of her brother.  
  
The assignment was a relatively simple one, requiring the students to do little more than measure and mix. They wouldn't even have to fire up the bunsene burner  
  
Melvin would not let Mina brush the topic off. "I admire you more than any other girl I've meet."  
  
Mina concentrated on her measurements rather than Melvin. She didn't think of it as ignoring him so much as doing her required class work. Someone had to.  
  
"And I was wondering if you'd be my girlfriend."  
  
Mina's had froze in the process of picking up a beaker. "I'm sorry Melvin, what did you say?"  
  
"I asked you to be my girlfriend."  
  
That was she was afraid of. She pretended to concentrate on the experiment while she fumbled for a reasonable excuse. My aunt was mauled by an angry hippo and I'm in mourning rarely worked these days.  
  
With a resolved sigh she dumped the entire contents of beaker A into the solution and swiveled her stool to face Melvin.  
  
"I so sorry Melvin, but you see.the thing is.umm.I already have a boyfriend! It's true! But you wouldn't know about him because.he's in college. And his name is Jordan! So, I'm sorry but I do appreciate the offer. I hope-"  
  
She halted her babbling when she realized that Melvin was not looking at her, rather the solution behind her with a look of horrified fascination written across her face.  
  
She sniffed and made an unpleasant face as she turned behind her and saw the solution bubbling over the container at a furious rate, sparking as it did so. With a shriek she jumped out of her seat. "Oh my god, it's going to blow! Everybody run!"  
  
"Mina it's not explosive though the smell will probably never go away." Mrs. Pataki cursed under her breath as the sprinkler system came in response to the noxious cloud of smoke Mina's experiment created. "Class please exit the room in an orderly fashion," This said with a pointed look in Mina's direction. "and wait for me in the library. I'll find a janitor."  
  
Mina stood frozen in place as her classmates filed past her. Why was it that whenever it was most needed, that hole never appeared to open and swallow her whole?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Oh darling, I'm so please you could finally make it to dinner. I realize you must be terribly busy with your father's re-election campaign!" Mrs. Hathaway gushed over mashed potatoes and slightly overcooked lamb. After weeks of trying, she had finally cajoled Jed into bringing his girlfriend over for a meal. The only thing that could have pleased her more was if Rei's father had come as well. Wouldn't the ladies at the garden club simply seethe with envy if she had their state senator over for dinner?  
  
Jed glared furiously at his mother for mentioning Rei's father. It was the only condition set down in stone before he agreed to subject Rei to his parents.  
  
Rei sighed as she picked at her salad. "Actually my father and I haven't seen each other since the Christmas before last. Though seeing as it is an election year, I suppose I'll be summoned to his home during the holidays to pose and preen for the press."  
  
Meredith gaped at the girl before breaking to peals of laughter. "You had me going for a moment there! You've quite a talent for dry whit, dear."  
  
"Darling, that's enough about Rei's father." James Hathaway cut in before Meredith could launch anymore inquires. "Rei might begin to think you only invited her over to fish for information about her father."  
  
Both Jed and Rei gave him grateful looks.  
  
Meredith bristled. "Of course she wouldn't think such a thing! She understands that I'm only taking an interest in her. Don't you Rei?"  
  
Rei smiled politely at her hostess but said nothing.  
  
James changed the subject before his wife could dig in any further. "How was school today? Did anything exciting happen?"  
  
Rei and Jed both glanced at Mina, the burst out laughing.  
  
Mina, who had been off in her own world, was brought rudely back to reality. Blushing bright red, she glared at her brother and his girlfriend which succeeded in making them laugh even harder.  
  
Mr. and Mrs. Hathaway exchanged puzzled looks.  
  
"What's so funny?" Mrs. Hathaway asked.  
  
"Ask Mina." Jed managed as he brought himself under control. Though he wasn't laughing anymore, he found it impossible to prevent his lips from twitching.  
  
Mina mumbled.  
  
"What was that dear?"  
  
"I was distracted during chemistry and boggled my experiment." She summarized.  
  
Jed wasn't willing to leave it at that. "She started screaming for the class to duck and cover because she thought it was going to explode."  
  
Mina glared at her brother, he never knew when to let sleeping dogs play dead.  
  
Jed was still talking. "And they had to evacuate the entire science wing because the smell was so awful the lab room can't be used for a week!"  
  
Meredith gaped at he daughter. "What on earth were you do distracted by!?"  
  
"My lab partner, Melvin was asking me out on a date." Mina admitted sheepishly.  
  
"There are better ways to turn down a guy, sis." Jed hooted from across the table.  
  
"Melvin Collins?" Her mother asked with a predatory gleam in her eyes.  
  
Miserable, Mina nodded.  
  
Meredith almost leapt out of her seat. "Mina darling, that's wonderful! Do you know who his father is?! Do you know how much he brings in a year?! I couldn't be more proud unless you hooked Brain Taylor's son!"  
  
Mina was appalled by her mother's behavior, especially in front of Rei. "It doesn't matter, I turned him down."  
  
"Turned him down? No! You'll just have to call him up and tell him you made a mistake."  
  
"No thank you Mom. I don't want to date Melvin."  
  
"It doesn't matter what you want, darling. Think of your future!"  
  
"Mo-om! Please! I already explained that it will be years before I even entertain the notion of marriage."  
  
Mr. Hathaway nodded in a agreement. "As well you should. Dear," He addressed his wife. "Perhaps it's best you drop the topic. It is, after all, Mina's life."  
  
"And anyway," Rei spoke up. "It's already too late. I heard that Melvin asked Serena's friend Molly out after lunch."  
  
Mrs. Hathaway sniffed and didn't say another word.  
  
"I hope you don't think too badly of Mom. She doesn't mean to come off as an 18th century social climber. But she married my dad when she was really young and they built the practice out of nothing. She doesn't understand that neither Jed nor I have any intention of getting married young or for money."  
  
Jed groaned. "Half of the time I don't think she understands how outrageous she sounds."  
  
"So, I guess that means you're not dating me for my father's money?" Rei asked Jed teasingly.  
  
He caught on. "No, only for your car."  
  
"Understandable." Rei conceded as she took Jed's hand and smile reassuringly at Mina. "Actually I kind of liked your mom. She had the exact same goals for you two that my father's friends have for their children. Only your mom is forthcoming about it."  
  
Jed squeezed her hand. "I asked her not to bother you about your father. I'm sorry she didn't listen."  
  
Rei smiled. "At least now you know I won't break if he's mentioned."  
  
"Thanks for the save at dinner, by the way." Mina spoke up before Jed and Rei could spiral into mush mode.  
  
Rei blinked. "Actually it's true. And according to Serena they're 'totally in love' whatever that means."  
  
"You see Rei, love is an emotion-"  
  
Rei swatted at her boyfriend. "I get the concept."  
  
Mina beamed. "Well you know what they say!"  
  
Rei and Jed exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of what was in store.  
  
"If you love something set it free and hope it never comes back."  
  
Rei grinned at Jed. "It does make sense, especially in reference to Melvin!"  
  
He nodded with a severely repressed smile.  
  
Mina frowned in confusion. "I have no idea what you two find amusing. Please tell me you two haven't developed some sort of couple speak."  
  
Rei snorted. "There is no (nor will there ever be) couple code between your brother and I. Pigs will fly, hell will freeze, and J. Lo. will stop claiming to be down with the Hispanic community before you catch me doing anything so sickening."  
  
"But chickpea!" Jed declared in mock distress.  
  
Rei rolled her eyes. "You see what I have to put up with?"  
  
Mina smiled. "You're preaching to the church bells, Rei. I've dealt with him my entire life."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mina and Rei nervously entered the party. Sure, they'd been to parties before, but those were high school parties. This.this was a college party.  
  
They'd driven three hours to look at the campus of Northern University. Because Rei's cousin Cassie was a student and jumped at the opportunity to show her little cousin and her friend around, the girls were allowed to visit sans parents. Thus affording the girls a real college experience.  
  
The girls had already had a tour of the campus and been told what to avoid- Eastern Dining Hall and Jackson Dormitory ("Some really freaky stuff goes down there!")- and now Cassie was taking them to a frat party. Even Rei, who claimed to hate parties and the drunk morons who attended them, seemed excited.  
  
Inside the living room had been made into a dance floor by pushing all the furniture against the wall and adding a strobe light. Two guys stood behind a bar that looked suspiciously like a bookcase. Cassie pushed Rei and Mina to the bar and handed them two plastic cups filled with coke and cheap rum. The she shoved them towards the dance floor and in the tradition of loving cousins everywhere, abandoned them. Rei scowled after her cousin as she and Mina were besieged with willing dance partners.  
  
It was a sad reflection upon currant society that a girl couldn't dance alone without a male taking it as an invitation to grind himself against her backside, but such was the state of the world. Mina found it easy enough to step away from the offenders, further into the crowd. Rei wasn't satisfied with the retreat scenario and instead took it upon herself to punish the boys by inventing a painful dance technique. Whenever a male tried to hump her in the name of dancing she began to move her arms in rhythm to the music, swing her arms foreword and moving her elbows back into the guy's gut at full speed.  
  
Mina smirked as Rei demolished the forth guy. When she turned away from her friend, she found herself facing a cute, blond guy.  
  
"Care to dance?" He asked with a shy smiled that revealed a dimple in his left cheek.  
  
She nodded and easily moved into her arms. His name was Brent, he was a freshman, and apparently one of the few guys at the party who was polite enough to ask for a dance. He seemed like a nice guy and so she stayed in his arms for the next few songs.  
  
Well into their fifth song Brent ceased to be fun. His fingers shifted from her hips and began to work their way under her shirt to trail up her back. In shock, her eyes darted to his face and she found him grinning down at her, the dimple no longer so endearing.  
  
"You're so pretty, do you know that?"  
  
For some reason, Mina couldn't find her voice or even a violent reaction as he trailed his fingers from her back to her stomach.  
  
He leaned over to whisper in her ear. "I think we should take this somewhere more private. There's a bathroom upstairs."  
  
The possibility as being sized up as a 'bathroom fuck' snapped Mina back to herself. "Do the words jailbait mean anything to you?"  
  
On cue, he pulled his hands from her waist as though he'd been burned. "What?"  
  
Mina smiled sweetly at him, giving the appearance of a menacing bunny. "I'm only seventeen."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Yeah. Oh. And has that routine ever worked on a girl? I just can't see any girl jumping up and saying 'The bathroom! That's ever so romantic. Let's go stranger!' And you aren't even that cute." She stopped her tirade when she realized that Brent had slipped away in the middle of her rant.  
  
"On to older pastures, I suppose."  
  
Brent's departure seemed to signal the return of the butt grinders and Mina felt absolutely no shame in fleeing the dance floor. It just didn't seem fair that this was her first college party. She'd expected it to be.well in hindsight she didn't know what she'd really expected. But it certainly hadn't been a party so much like the ones she attended regularly, only with no breakables in sight.  
  
She found Rei in the corner, deep in conversation with a tall guy who's back was to her.  
  
With a grin she sidled up to Rei, always willing to jab at the girl's temper. "Does your boyfriend allow you to hit on strange men?"  
  
"Her boyfriend would string me up inside out if Rei were hitting on me. In as act of mercy she wasn't."  
  
Rei smirked up at him, and Mina looked at his face for the first time.  
  
"Keith." Why did this always happen to her? Would she have to spend the rest of her life craning her head upwards to avoid starting conversations with Keith without knowing who he was. And why did he always show up wherever she went. Couldn't a girl drive three hours away from home without running into him? "I didn't realize you'd be here."  
  
"I could say the same of you two. As it turns out, my cousin also attends this university."  
  
"His name isn't Brent is it?" Because that would just make her night perfect.  
  
Keith stared blankly at her. "No, why?"  
  
She had a flashback to Keith's reaction the last time he found out about a guy hitting on her. "No reason."  
  
"Keith's been protecting me from the scary dancers." Rei put in.  
  
"Actually, I've been protecting them. I caught sight of Rei doing her elbow jab dance and decided to save the male population here."  
  
Mina looked skeptically up at Keith. "That's you story then?"  
  
Keith shrugged. "Sure. Also my cousin abandoned me and the women here are aggressive to the point of terror."  
  
Mina shared a smirk with Rei. "Aww, poor Keith is afraid of the ladies! So you came to Rei for protection?"  
  
Rather than get all stiff and angry as Mina expected, Keith grinned. "Naturally. Rei's scary!"  
  
Mina couldn't help but laugh when Rei responded to Keith's comment with a exaggerated scary face. When she realized that she was getting comfortable with the situation she knew she had to do something, anything to get out of there.  
  
"Actually Rei, I hunted you down to see if you were ready to leave. I have a bit of a headache."  
  
It was as if Keith could tell how desperately she wanted to get away from him. "I was just about to head out of here too. Would you two be interested in ditching this party and finding an open restaurant? My treat."  
  
Because Rei was normally a good friend, one who silently checked to make sure Mina was comfortable with situations, Mina was shocked when Rei quickly agreed. "I'd cheerfully follow Satan to an N*Sync concert if it meant leaving this place."  
  
Mina silently cursed the fates. They'd had it out for her since they stranded her at Keith's party. And now she couldn't even count on Rei to bail her out. Oh no, Rei actually seemed to be pushing her towards the boy!  
  
She blinked and realized that both Keith and Rei were staring intensely at her, waiting for an answer.  
  
"Umm."  
  
Rei rolled her eyes. "Blonde."  
  
Mina glared at her friend and Keith chose the moment to test his persuasive skills.  
  
"Surely you won't turn down a free meal."  
  
If she didn't know better (and really she did) she would have sworn that Keith's eyes were filled with poorly suppressed humor. As if he knew that she hated him and assumed she'd allow his presence to ruin a perfect opportunity to escape the party. Well, she'd show him!  
  
Turning her smile onto megawatt, she beamed at him. "Why don't you and Rei get your car and I'll tell her cousin that we're leaving." She left to find Cassie with the satisfaction of knowing she left Keith blinking in her wake.  
  
Keith Taylor had started a war in the eighth grade, whether he knew it or not. When they were face to face tiny battles were waged. True there had been a truce or two along the way, but this weekend would be no such occurrence.  
  
He thought he'd won by purposely making her uncomfortable with his presence, luring her friend over to his side. Yes, that was his game.  
  
She'd show him. She was determined to pretend that he didn't bother her a lick, even if it killed her. She's smile until her face hurt, hell she'd even laugh at his jokes provided he made any. Come to think of it she'd never actually heard him make a joke. It was entirely possible that he was without a sense of humor, or worse yet, limited to 'knock knock' jokes.  
  
With a shudder she found Cassie and told her the modified plan. Cassie waved her off and Mina stepped outside just in time to see Keith's car pull up to the curb.  
  
"I saved you the front seat." Rei chirped from the back, proving to Mina that she was a traitor of the worst sort. First Melvin, now this.  
  
"What's open this time of night?" Keith asked.  
  
"Waffle House." Rei suggested, sounding like a six year old does about McDonald's.  
  
Mina twisted in her seat to look back at Rei. "The food there is so greasy! Not to mention the sketchy setting."  
  
"Uh-huh. Hash browns, yum!"  
  
Mina squinted through the darkness at Rei. "How was it possible for you to get plastered in the ten minutes I was away?"  
  
Rei sniffed. "I'll have you know this is the cumulative effort *hic* of two hours!"  
  
"And the four shots of tequila on your way out the door." Keith pointed out dryly.  
  
"And that." Rei agreed cheerfully. Suddenly she lunged foreword in her seat to turn up Keith's radio. "I love this song!" And she began to sing 'The Joker' at the top of her lungs mercifully on pitch.  
  
Mina crossed her arms and slumped into her seat. Not only was Rei a traitor, she was a deserter. Hell, if Mina was lucky Rei wouldn't make kissy noises at her and Keith over the table.  
  
Keith noticed Mina's pouting and leaned over at the next light to be heard over the radio and Rei.  
  
"Look on the bright side. Your brother found a worse drunk than him!"  
  
Mina looked out her window so Keith wouldn't see the tiny smile that graced her face.  
  
It was only 1:00 AM and the college crowd had yet to stagger out of the parties and bars in search of late night food. The trio claimed a booth by a window with little difficultly. The only other customers were a group of teenagers and two men in leather jackets with a black duffle bag at their feet.  
  
A tired, somewhat grumpy waitress, whose nametag read Belinda shuffled over to take their order. Rei happily ordered her coveted hash browns and Mina chose to stick with a Coke.  
  
After Belinda slouched away Keith raised an eyebrow at Mina.  
  
"Please tell me you're not one of those girls who refuses to eat anything but rabbit food."  
  
"Rabbit food?"  
  
"You know, a steady diet of carrots, lettuce, and maybe the occasional stalk of celery."  
  
Rei, who had fought and lost a vicious battle with Mina over the last stale donut in Cassie's room, snorted.  
  
Mina stuck her tongue out at Rei before turning her attention to Keith. "Hardly. I'm just not used to eating this early in the day." She turned towards Keith confidently. "To tell you the truth, I just wanted to get out of that party."  
  
With a grin Keith countered Mina's move by moving forward so that their noses were almost touching across the table. "Not the promise of my dazzling company, then?"  
  
All that Mina could see was his eyes, and dammit they were filled with a amusement. To see humor there, to have witnessed the easy grin he flashed her and Rei.it was entirely unlike the Keith Taylor she had come to expect. It was so easy to forget the rigid, unforgiving, cold boy she knew back home.  
  
When she realized that she was unconsciously moving closer into his gaze she slammed herself awkwardly back into her seat  
  
Keith colored slightly. "Guess not." He muttered.  
  
Mina glanced beside her to see if Rei had witnessed the exchange only to find the space beside her empty. Mina looked back to Keith in alarm. "Should we go look for her? I just got a mental image of her hitching a ride back home with a trucker named Bob on a drunken lark."  
  
Keith glanced out the window. "I don't think you need to worry. I don't see any Mack trucks in the parking lot."  
  
Mina glared at the boy across from her, both for his lack of concern and his uncharacteristic display of good humor.  
  
His hands raised in self defense. "I'm sure she'll show up soon. She seemed pretty set on her hash browns."  
  
Mina was about to bolt out of her seat and scream Rei's name in the parking lot, when the missing girl calmly slid back into the booth seat.  
  
"Mina was about to send out a search party."  
  
Rei rolled her eyes. "I was gone for all of three minutes." In a mimic of Mina's earlier pose, Rei draped herself across the table towards Keith, as if imparting a grave secret. "Hathaways are worriers."  
  
"I am not!" Mina protested.  
  
Keith ignored Mina. "I noticed." He told Rei.  
  
` "Excuse me for being concerned when Rei pulled a Houdini!" She does really stupid things when she's drunk."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Belinda chose that moment to make a gracious entrance. "You want your food or what?"  
  
Not to be outdone on the rudeness scale, Rei stretched out her hands, flexing her fingers in anticipation. "Gimme!"  
  
"Were you raised in a shed?" Mina asked after the waitress left.  
  
"Politician's house, actually. Mostly different from a barn but slightly similar in some ways. Ever read Animal Farm?" Rei asked the table in general as she dumped ketchup liberally over her hash browns. "I liked 1984 better."  
  
Keith agreed good naturedly, finding her rambling amusing.  
  
"And anyway Mina, I was just responding to her behavior." She paused to savor her first bite. "Mmm. Call Waffle House the grease trap it is, but nobody does hash browns better." She frowned at her fork before taking another bite. "You know, I don't even like hash browns. But these are really good!"  
  
Mina sighed and Keith actually chuckled.  
  
It didn't take long for the two with food to finish their meals. As Keith was paying the bill, Rei began snickering madly as she searched her pockets for change by the jukebox.  
  
"Hey Mina, got any quarters?"  
  
Shooting her friend a questioning look she handed Rei three quarters and watched as Rei fed the machine money. She pressed the same code seven times, cackling maniacally to herself. The she dashed outside to Keith's car as 'Opps, I Did It Again' filled Waffle House. Shaking their heads at her antics, Keith and Mina followed.  
  
Rei passed out somewhere between Waffle House and Cassie's dorm and Keith helped Mina escort the barely awake girl to her cousin's room.  
  
Mina stayed outside the door as Rei stumbled inside. She had to admit that Keith had been an okay guy all night, and it hadn't seemed to be an act to trick her. She could even grudgingly admit that she probably wouldn't have had more fun have had she stayed behind at the party.  
  
"Thanks for everything tonight, Keith."  
  
He'd been about to walk back to his car, but stopped to look at Mina in astonishment. "So you don't hate my guts after all."  
  
"I never said I hated you." Mina winced inwardly. It was true, she'd never said she hated him.to his face anyway.  
  
Keith raised an eyebrow. "In that case why don't you and Rei spend tomorrow with me and my cousin?"  
  
"I think Cassie wanted to spend tomorrow with us."  
  
"She can come too."  
  
She couldn't say no, she couldn't think of a good reason to. "I'll check with Rei and Cassie. If they're okay with it we'll meet you on the quad around noon. Okay?"  
  
He nodded without a smile. Still he didn't look as closed of and cold as he usually did. He looked relaxed. "I hope I'll see you there."  
  
He stopped on his walk down the hallway and called out something that made Mina pause on her way into Cassie's room.  
  
She mulled over his words as she curled into her sleeping bag. Somehow he made 'sweet dreams' sound like something more than a customary nighttime parting.  
  
She knew she'd meet up with him and his cousin tomorrow. She'd said she would. She'd also said she didn't hate him.  
  
And the thing was- for tonight anyway- it was true. Even thinking about what he'd done to Jordan didn't bring the flash of hate it used to.  
  
"This isn't good." She whispered to herself and to the quiet room.  
  
A.N. Chapter dedication to K. Wyse for helping me with the chemistry, even though I ignored the specifics she gave me and went for vague description. And also, she gave me much motivation on Shittenou.com.  
  
I'm beginning to see that having the underage teenagers get drunk at parties is becoming a common occurrence in this story. While I enjoy writing characters under the influence of alcohol I think this is the last chapter in which we'll be seeing it. But for those of you who enjoy such things I'm sure it will appear in the other stories in the series.  
  
I suppose this is the part where I give you all a long, detailed list of why it's taken me so long to get this chapter out. But to tell the truth, I hate it when author's do that, so I won't. Suffice to say this took so long because of a combination of a busy RL and writer's block. In other words- avoidance. Just know that I'll never post a story and not finish it. And in the future I'll have most of it written before I start posting.  
  
No worries, the next part will be out soon. And by soon I mean in a week or two not seven months. And hey! It's from Keith's POV. I know some of you (VO1) have been anxious to see inside his head. 


	7. Shift Perspective

**Shift/Perspective**

The sound of William Tell playing shrilly woke Keith up. With a muttered oath he picked up his cell phone and checked the caller I.D. He frowned at the name displayed and figured there was no need to bother with manners.

"What do you want?"

Laughter rang from the other end of the line. "I take it I woke you?"

Keith growled something indiscernible but managed to make it sound threatening.

"But Keith! The sun is shining, birds are singing, and McDonalds is only serving breakfast for another 30 minutes!"

"What do you want, Jed?" Keith ground out.

"I'm just waiting for an update."

"I'm not your soldier behind enemy lines. I'm not going to type up a daily report of the happenings for you."

Jed ignored him. "Did you see Rei and Mina last night?"

Keith rubbed his eyes distractedly. "Yes, they were at a party last night."

This time it was Jed who grumbled.

"Don't worry," Keith assured Jed in his most serious of voices. "Rei was only dancing on a table for one song and she kept most of her clothes on."

"WHAT!"

"And I was able to stop Mina from leaving with some guy. But I'm afraid I didn't get there in time to prevent her from disappearing with a few girls. But I've been assured that experimentation at our age is a good thing."

Jed was no longer freaking out. "I don't even want to know what sick lesbian fantasies you've placed my sister in. Did you actually find them?"

"Yes Jed, I actually found them. Neither seemed to be having much fun at the party- though your girlfriend did manage to get completely wasted- so I took them to Waffle House."

"How drunk is completely wasted?"

"How drunk does completely wasted sound to you? The good news is that she's a sillier drunk than you are."

"So other than Rei suffering through a massive hanger, they're both fine?"

Keith sighed. "Yes Jed, they're completely fine and fully capable of taking care of themselves."

"Of course they are!" Jed agreed wholeheartedly.

"Then why am I tailing them?"

"Just in case they can't. My sister has a way of attracting trouble."

Keith wiggled his big toe and was forced to sigh in agreement. "Neither one of them is stupid. It won't take them long to start questioning my constant presence this weekend."

"Nah. Familiar face in an unfamiliar place syndrome will override the urge."

"Sure Jed, whatever you want to believe. Don't think for a second I won't rat you out when they figure out what's going on. I refuse to be the one who gets his ass kicked for this scheme." He glared down at his watch. "I'll be meeting up with them soon."

"Excellent."

"You do a horrible Burns impression."

Jed snickered, unoffended. "Whatever you say Taylor. And watch out for Rei, she gets grumpy when she has a hangover." Jed's tone didn't suggest an actual warning, rather disappointment that he wouldn't be there to experience Rei's wraith firsthand.

"You're a sick man, Hathaway. You know that, right?"

Jed was laughing as he hung up the phone.

* * *

Keith checked his watch. He and Will had been waiting for fifteen minutes. He frowned apologetically at his cousin. "If they're not here in five minutes we can leave." 

Just then Mina appeared at the edge of the quad and waved enthusitally in their direction. Will let out a low whistle of appreciation as the girls approached.

Keith was taken aback by Mina's cheerful display. With Mina it was usually one teeny step foreword three giant leaps back. According to the established pattern she should hate him more than ever after last night. He couldn't help but frown at her as she drew closer. How was he supposed to figure her out if she didn't stick to her pattern?

She grinned up at him. "Don't look so grumpy, Keith. We wouldn't have been late if someone," this followed with a pointed look in Rei's direction. "Had gotten up on time."

"No worries. I'm Will, you must be Mina."

Mina smiled prettily at Keith's cousin. "Yep. The grump is Rei and the other one is Cassie."

Cassie studied Will before stepping foreword. "Are you in Levin's Abnormal Psy.?"

Will actually blushed under Cassie's attention. "Yeah, I think I am." Obviously he'd noticed Cassie before and used this opportunity to start a private conversation.

Keith stared at Will's back in disbelief.

Mina inched over to Keith to nudge him slyly in the ribs. "Your cousin likes Rei's cousin. I think he has a crush."

"Trust you to sum it up in elementary school terms." Rei's sunglasses shielded all from her glare.

Mina risked dismemberment and made a face at Rei. "I think it's sweet."

"Sweet?" Keith asked incredulously as he watched his cousin make a fool out of himself. Dear lord, was that how he acted around Mina? He snuck a glace at the blonde out of the corner of his eye.

"Of course it's sweet. Sweet like the singing of birds, sugar, and all the other Disney crap. So sweet that the squirrels will soon break into song and I'll suffer a massive brain hemorrhage." Rei muttered. "Are we going to stand around all day or are we going to do something?"

Mina smiled brightly and in a sugar sweet voice designed to piss Rei off cooed. "Does somebody miss her wittle Jeddy Weddy?"

Keith winced on Jed's behalf and Rei snarled and stomped off muttering to Will and Cassie. Mina made out "blonde" and "punch" and conveniently ignored the rest.

Keith shifted and tried to avoid awkwardness. "I'm glad you came. I was beginning to think you weren't going to show."

Mina snorted. "You obviously don't have a sister to teach you the ways of women. If we give an exact meeting time we really mean at least fifteen minutes after that set time."

"So I should have shown up at 12:15?"

Mina rolled her eyes playfully. "Dear god no! Sometimes we're on time and we get pissed if we have to wait for you."

Cassie turned back towards Keith and Mina. "We're going to Spanky's for lunch. Come on." Mina and Keith walked behind the other three.

"That's not really fair." Keith pointed out after a minute or so of walking in companionable silence.

"What isn't?"

"The time thing. Why are men supposed to wait without complaint but women aren't?"

Mina smiled at him. "Because."

"Because?"

Mina nodded sagely. "Yep. You have much to learn grasshopper."

Keith smiled in spite of himself. "I suppose that makes you Mina-sensei."

"Pretty much. Stick with me grasshopper and I will make a Jedi out of you, yet!"

Keith's smile stretched. Apparently Mina's adorable habit of mixing up idioms extended to pop culture.

They spent the rest of the walk mostly in silence, pausing now and then to make fun of Will's outlandish attempts to keep Cassie's attention.

"Not that I don't enjoy you're company…"

Mina looked up at Keith confused and he hurried on.

"I do!" he really, really, REALLY did. "But I'm surprised you haven't joined up with Rei yet." He gestured to the brunette who was trudging after Will and Cassie, no doubt glaring for all her worth at the two.

Mina looked almost hurt for a second and Keith began to mentally berate himself. He was a jerk, an idiot, a fool. He had the girl of his dreams walking beside him, for all appearances enjoying his company, and he had to go and ask why. For once-

"You saw the mood she's in." Mina wrinkled her nose as she watched Rei violently kick a can out of her path. "It's best to let the hangover run its course before I expect her to act human."

Keith smirked down at her, relieved she hadn't surged foreword to Rei after his comment. " So, I'm consolation company."

"Yep." She agreed with a playful nudge against his shoulder.

He was grateful when they caught up with the group at Spanky's. Isolated proximity to Mina Hathaway was turning him into a prehistoric moron. After his first open mouth insert foot moment, Mina had turned her attention to the campus and its students. And Keith focused his upon her.

Knowing that he had a history of staring at her, even knowing that he had her brother's blessing of sorts (hadn't Jed told him to "keep on eye" on her") did not make Keith feel any less like a stalker.

And trying to focus his attention on the students they were passing only made him aware of how many of the males were checking out Mina. In their defense she was wearing a rather tiny blue sundress and he had been doing the same thing himself. But it was all he could do to restrain himself from clamping an arm around her shoulders and hauling her to his side in a statement that would scream, "Mine!".

He actually made a list in his heads of the pros and cons of such a maneuver.

**Pros**

He'd get to touch Mina.

Every male would know they stood no chance.

Her skin looked really soft.

Like really, really soft.

Touch good.

**Cons**

It's wouldn't stop guys from looking.

Jed would kill him.

Mina would kill him.

Rei wouldn't care if he touched Mina, but she was out for blood and any excuse to bring pain was a good one. Rei would kill him.

Touch bad.

Regretfully, he went with the touch bad theory and settled for glaring at every man who ogled Mina. Luckily for all involved Mina seemed blissfully unaware of what was going on around her.

It was pathetic, Keith decided as they were all led to a table and handed menus. Oh, how the mighty had fallen. Keith Taylor, the boy who was always in control had been brought to heel, turned to a caveman, and barely keeping control of himself – all because a girl was being nice to him.

It was like seeing a wolf, a solitary and proud creature, roll over on its back and squirm helplessly because someone offered it a treat.

"And you sir?"

Come to think of it, he'd never actually seen a full grown wolf tamed, but that wasn't the point, was it?

"Keith."

The point was that he was in danger of becoming Mina Hathaway's lapdog. She was lovely but was she worse the potential loss of dignity?

"Hey, Keith."

And why was he so hopelessly drawn to her? It couldn't have simply been her beauty; he'd be surrounded by beautiful girls his entire life. It couldn't be love, could it? She wasn't the type of girl he'd ever pictured himself with. She was too flighty and opinionated and god knew she attracted trouble. He had the injuries to prove it. She had awful taste in friends, just look at her friendship with Jordan. Or even Lynda. She was too loyal for her own good. And yet…no, it couldn't be love. He wouldn't allow it. She was beautiful and fun and sweet to just about everyone (sometimes even him) but he was–

"Keith!" Rei slapped down the menu covering his face and pointed to the waiter. "Did you want to order or just sit around with glazed eyes for the rest of the day?"

Keith blinked at the intrusion and Mina jumped to the rescue.

"As opposed to what you planned to do with your day: pretty much the same thing only with more attitude."

Rei turned her withering glare to Mina and the exchange bought Keith time to quickly scan the menu and rattle of an order to the amused waiter.

Keith resisted the urge to smile gratefully at Mina. Better to just pretend he hadn't noticed anything at all. He cleared his throat and glanced to his cousin. "So, what are we doing today Will?"

Will looked a bit sheepish. "To tell the truth, I hadn't thought past lunch. The campus is great at night but it doesn't offer much entertainment during the day or weekends. And the town is kind of small."

Cassie leaned in towards Will. "I was thinking we could take 'em to river and hang out there for a bit. The girls and I planned to see a show at the Hitchcock tonight. You two are welcome to come."

"That'd be great." Will said without even glancing at Keith for confirmation.

Keith sighed as he slumped back into his seat. He'd hoped to end the weekend early and get back home. Less than an hour in Mina's company had turned him into a space cadet, who knew what state the sight of her in a swimsuit would leave him in.

An increasing sense of unease was growing within him. It wasn't just that he was enjoying Mina's company; she seemed to be enjoying his. With any other girl this was a good thing, but with Mina…

She'd probably hate him with the heat of a thousand fiery suns by the time Monday came around, and as usual he'd be left baffled as to what caused the change.

Mina nudged Keith gently. "If you don't want to stick I can cover for you."

Keith smiled weakly at her. "Thanks but I was planning to stay for the entire weekend."

"Worried about the river, or just the possibility of a horrendously bad movie afterwards?" She asked with a wry grin.

He shrugged. "The movie actually. The only ones I saw advertised were Old School and Lost Boys."

"Oh, we're not going to see either of those." Mina assured him.

"That's a relief."

"Cassie's taking us to the midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show."

Keith had been polishing off the last of his burger and now found himself in the position of trying not to choke. He painfully swallowed as horrific visions of men in corsets and pearls flashed unwanted into his mind.

Mina laughed as Keith's face turned red and he began to cough.

"Kidding, only kidding!" She leaned her cheek into her hand, grinning fondly as she tried to capture Keith's red face and irate expression in her mind forever. "What I wouldn't give for a camera right now." She mused.

There was a flash of light as Rei took out a camera, snapped, and nonchalantly went back to picking at the remains of her sandwich.

Keith glared at both girls as he thumped his chest to stop the coughing. Neither paid much attention.

Mina was too busy eyeing Rei with a mixture of astonishment and suspicion.

"Why do you have a camera?"

Rei paused in the act of spearing a pickle with a fork to answer. "Weekend away, good times, possibility of blackmail, you know…" She waved her hand airily.

"Right." Will said, giving Rei a worried look.

Silence descended over the table as all the occupants, save Rei, wondered what embarrassing footage Rei might have caught without their knowledge.

Rei pushed her plate away, smiled angelically at everyone, and signaled the waiter. "Check please!"

* * *

After stopping by their respective cousin's dorm rooms to change, the group headed to the river to find it mostly deserted. There were a couple of guys from Will's dorm taking turns jumping off of a 15 ft. rock ledge and Will trotted over to join them. Rei and Cassie spread out towels and began slathering on sunscreen. Mina stood beside Keith as they eyed the gentile river. 

"Do you want to try the ledge?" Mina asked.

Keith gawked at the ledge and tried not to let it show. There was no way he was going to tell the girl he had a crush on that he was mildly afraid of heights. "I suppose it wouldn't be very manly of me to wade in, would it?" He hedged hopefully.

Mina gave him an odd look. "Well, there is that aspect. And also, there's the rusty fish hooks and pointy rocks waiting for your bare feet."

He glanced down at said bare feet. "Point taken." With a sigh he began to climb the slope. "Onward ho."

Mina shoved him gently as she followed. "You did not just call me a ho."

Keith blanched. "What? No, it's a quote from….well something."

"I know. I was kidding."

"I knew that."

"Right."

Keith didn't have a chance to defend himself further as Mina delivered her parting shot before jumping off into the water.

Keith peered over the edge and turned white as the earth swirled crazily. He tried to blink the world back into focus as Mina's head broke the surface. She waved up at him.

"Come on Keith, it's not that far." Will assured him as he paddled with the currant. He also shot his cousin a look that translated to, 'Don't let the girl you like know what a big wuss you are. Jump and get it over with, man!'

There were a million things Keith wanted to ask before jumping into that water. 'Is it deep?' nearly crossed his lips, before he realized that he'd probably stutter the question out and sound like a wimp.

'How close is the nearest hospital?', 'Mina you can have first pick of my stuff if I die', and 'Will, you bastard! You know how I feel about heights, and you brought me here anyway.'­— these were all contenders for final words. In the end though, Keith felt it would be better to leave life as he'd lived it— silent, with eyes screwed shut, and an appreciation towards barely concealed dramatics.

There are those with acrophobia who, once pushed from a height with a safe landing in mind, do not mind the falling. They find that it was looking down, the intense vertigo, that caused their heart to pound, not the fall. Once they've hit the water they surface ready to try again, maybe this time without looking down at all. Once conquering their fear, these people often go on to skydive or bungee jump to drive their lack of fear home.

Keith was not one of these people. He hated the weightless sensation of falling, the way his stomach jumped into his lungs. His father had spent buckets of money trying to help Keith through his fear of heights, but in the end Keith, his father, and half a dozen therapists had given up. Keith resigned himself to a life without skydiving or bungee jumping, a life where he was absolute crap on roller coasters, and a life where he stayed as close to the wall as possible when going up and down stairs.

The fall took less than three seconds, but it felt like forever. When Keith hit the water he allowed himself to sink as far as he could, in hopes of touching the bottom. His toes touched the silt at the bottom and he opened his eyes to peer up to the surface. He could see someone's legs – Mina's maybe? – paddling four feet above his reach. 'Better to be at the bottom of a river than flying above it.' Keith thought. He would have stayed longer, but his lungs were tightening, begging for air, so he pushed off of the slimy base and rocketed to the surface, right behind Mina.

She shrieked and batted at him. "Don't do that!"

He grinned somewhat feebly. "Sorry?"

Everyone but Keith spent the afternoon scrambling up the steep embankment to jump back in. Keith left them to it, preferring to drift downstream with the current, then swim back up. After a few more jumps Mina joined him, and the two floated near one another in silence punctuated by Mina's teasing until Cassie called from the shore to tell them it was time to leave.


	8. This Doesn't Happen

_A.N. This doesn't happen. It's a "deleted scene", the original river scene that got cut b/c though it's based on a true story it's more slapstick than I wanted for the scene. Still I found it amusing, so it's included here._

* * *

After a brief stop to change into their suits, the five headed out to the river in Cassie's Explorer. As soon as they arrived Rei made it clear she had no interest in going into the water by settling herself down onto a towel with her cell phone and camera at hand. The rest breathed a sigh of relief when she covered her entire body, including head, with her sarong and napped.

Will scrambled up a rocky hill to cannonball into the river from above. Cassie spread her towel out cautiously beside Rei's and began slathering sunscreen on.

Mina and Keith had barely put a foot in the water when a shriek from Will halted their progress.

Mina stumbled on the rock bottomand fell into Keith. Since Mina was the force behind the fall, she had a nice (though not necessarily soft and cushy) Keith to land on top off. Keithhad the privilege of landing on uneven and pointy rocks. He surfaced with a scowl and glared accusingly at his cousin who was pointing a shaky finger into the water.

"What are you going on about!" Keith snapped.

Will didn't answer.

Mina pushed her sodden hair out of her face to peer at Will's ash colored face. "Are you alright, Will?"

"Guh." Was Will's reply.

Cassie sprang off her towel and hurried to see what Will was freaking out about and Mina and Keith began picking the way across the rocky bottom to him. Even Rei pulled the sarong from over her head to watch the proceedings with lazy amusement.

"Is it a dead body?" She asked with a snicker. Mina gasped and stumbled back a step rather than see a bloated corpse. "Relax Mina!" Rei called from the shore. "I was just kidding."

"Actually." Will said a bit desperately. "Actually." He struggled to gulp air as Cassie reached him.

"Actually I think it might be."

Cassie froze two feet away from Will and clasped her hands to mouth in horror. Only Keith continued wading towards his cousin, increasing his pace.

"And not so much a body as a um," Will's Adam's apple bobbled as he swallowed reflexively. "As a hand. Or a finger at least."

"There's probably a hand attached to it," Rei supplied helpfully. "I can't imagine a finger just laying at the bottom."

"Why don't you get your ass up off the towel and come see for yourself instead of just imagining." Cassie snapped, fed up with her cousin's attitude.

Rei shrugged and stood up just as Keith reached Will. He held a hand up to stay her as he peered into the murky water. "There's no need for all of us to see this."

Rei snorted. "Now I'm definitely coming in."

Soon all five were gathered in a loose circle around the object, trying to see.

"Oh sure, let's all gather around and kick up mud while we're at it. Brilliant!"

"Rei, if you don't shut up I'm going to shove your face down into this water until you're touching it with your teeth!" Cassie barked, resulting in a glaring contest between the two.

"I guess there isn't any way we could just wade back to the shore and pretend we never saw this." Mina asked.

"Saw what? There's nothing there but mud and rocks!"

"That's it Rei!"

"Everybody calm down!" Keith shouted before Cassie could lunge. "You're stirring up more silt and fighting isn't going to get us anywhere. Neither is sarcasm." He added with a significant look towards Rei.

She crossed her arms grimly.

"We can't just leave if there is a body down there. Someone out there could be waiting for them to come home." Will said.

"Why do we have to be the ones to see for sure? Aren't there police for this?" Rei asked.

Cassie threw her hands into the air. "And what if there's not actually a body. I'm sure they'd love to be called out to find an oddly shaped twig or stone or-"

"I see something."

Silence.

They peered into the water.

"Oh my god I see it!"

"It's pointing."

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

"I knew it! Ever since I was little I've had nightmares about finding a bloated corpse in a river!"

"It looks like a stick to me."

"No, it looks like a finger. And a bit of a hand. It's hard to tell with half of it buried."

"I say it's a stick."

"Hand."

"Stick."

"Hand."

"St-"

"Will you two shut the hell up already!"

Glaring silence.

"She has a point."

"Thank you."

"It could be a stick."

"We have to be sure."

"You're not suggesting we- please tell me you're not saying one of us should touch it."

"Have a better idea?"

"Yes. Let's leave."

"We can't."

"I'm not doing it!"

"Me either."

"Rei's the one who says it's a stick. I vote her."

"Yeah, that's gonna happen."

"I'll do it."

"No Keith, I'm the one who found it, I'll do it."

"Yeah, but I'm the one who said we have to be sure. I'll do it."

"None of you would be over here if it weren't for me. I can do it!"

"No Will, let me be the one."

"I can't believe you two are actually fighting about who gets to touch the dead body."

"Or stick."

"If you're so sure it's a damn stick, you do it Rei."

"Fine."

There was a splash as Rei gracelessly reached into the murky depths. Then the silence of held breaths as they waited.

Bird flew into the air above the trees as the silence of the woods was shattered by a scream.

* * *

"I TOLD you it was just a stick!"

"And I told you to shut up!"

Mina, Keith, and Will all sighed from the back seat at the cousins bickered in the front.

"I'm siding with Cassie on that statement." Mina muttered from the middle seat.

Will nodded in agreement. "I can't tell if I'm more bitter that she keeps rubbing my terror in my face or that she chased me around with that damn stick when she pulled it up."

"I'd be mad about the chase." Keith suggested. "You nearly fainted, after all."

"Shut up." Will muttered and turned his face to watch scenery. With a shrug Keith did the same.

Mina rolled her eyes upwards to the car ceiling. It was going to be a long ride back into town.


End file.
